Kentucky educators push back on Trump administration's threats to cut education funding

Yahoo

19-03-2025

Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman speaks during a Wednesday press conference about federal education funding. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
LOUISVILLE — Kentucky educators are not only wary of possible funding cuts under the Trump administration but also of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education altogether.
Hours after members of the Kentucky Education Association (KEA) voiced opposition to federal education cuts, Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman spoke alongside two Kentucky mothers who fear their children could lose vital school services if the federal department is dismantled.
At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Coleman, a former educator herself, focused on how gutting federal education funding could hamstring services at Kentucky's public schools. While any government agency should 'strive to be as efficient as possible,' she said federal funding that flows through the Department of Education helps students from low-income families or who have disabilities.
'When it comes to the services that are provided and the students that depend on them, I would never consider that to be waste,' Coleman said. 'I think that these kids deserve the moon, and if there's any cuts that could be made to make government more efficient, it shouldn't be on the backs of special education students.'
Coleman said 926 schools in the state receive Title I funding, which are federal dollars received by school districts to support students from low-income families. If programs and services are cut under IDEA, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, more than 114,000 Kentucky students could lose support. Last year, Kentuckians received more than $370 million in federal Pell Grants, which go to students who demonstrate financial need going to college or earning a professional degree.
Coleman, who could be a possible candidate for governor in 2027, said she and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear have often focused on policies to support health and education. In addition to the possible cuts for education, she raised concerns about possible cuts in Medicaid coverage by the Trump administration.
Eddie Campbell, the president of KEA, said members took actions across Kentucky Wednesday like hosting a 'walk-in' before their school day began or wearing red shirts in support of public education. The National Education Association organized events on Wednesday to back public schools.
Campbell said funding from the U.S. Department of Education aids students across Kentucky, and losing it would jeopardize support programs that help students succeed.
'When a public school opens its door in the morning, educators welcome their students with wide-open arms,' Campbell said. 'They meet them where they are, and they work with them from there and move them forward.'
President Donald Trump has said he would like to dismantle the federal Department of Education and move some responsibilities back to the states. It would take an act of Congress to do so. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education said it was cutting a substantial number of the agency's staff, about 1,315 employees, as part of a 'reduction in force' process. The cuts were part of efforts by Trump and his billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk to shrink the federal workforce and slash government spending.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has eyed some federal offices in Kentucky for cuts. Also, both Musk and the president floated the idea of taking a closer look at Fort Knox to make sure it is really storing the nation's gold. Fort Knox, about a 45-minute drive south of Louisville, houses the U.S. Bullion Depository and stores precious metal bullion reserves for the country.
Recently, Republican state lawmakers have attempted to introduce their own DOGE-like groups to replicate the federal-level efforts in Kentucky. However, the legislation specifically for that — Senate Bill 257 and House Concurrent Resolution 50 — did not gain approval in both chambers before lawmakers recessed for Beshear's veto period beginning last week.
Senate Bill 25, which had several changes made to it before it was sent to Beshear's desk, had a floor amendment that included a requirement for executive branch departments and programs to submit reports with 'suggestions for improved government efficiency.'
When asked about DOGE cuts, Beshear blasted Musk's moves in his weekly press conference held Wednesday. Beshear said federal workers who have been fired from the cuts 'have been deeply hurt, and in my opinion, they've been deeply wronged.'
'My concern is that what Elon Musk is trying to do is break government, not fix it,' Beshear said. Listen, I think we can admit that people all across the political spectrum have some issues with our federal government, but the answer to that isn't breaking it, isn't destroying it. It's actually fixing it. It's trying to sit down with others at the table and trying to hammer out different ways we can do these things better.'