20-03-2025
Detroit schools superintendent: Trump 'is not supportive of our children'
In a virtual event this week with over 1,000 attendees — many of whom were apparently Detroit school district employees — Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said President Donald Trump's administration is "not supportive of our children" and said employees who voted for Trump "have to reconcile that" with their day-to-day jobs.
"There's certainly DPSCD employees that voted for Trump," Vitti, who leads the largest district in the state, said at the budget update. "I really think you have to reconcile that with your day-to-day job and the children that you support, because this current president and this administration is not supportive of our children and our communities based on their budget, and budget defines your priorities."
More: Michigan school leaders run through 'what ifs' as Trump tries to gut education department
Vitti spent an hour explaining how federal funding cuts and how the president's proposed elimination of the U.S. Department of Education and other administration priorities could possibly trickle down to Detroit Public Schools Community District, which serves more than 49,000 students. If Congress scales back federal education funding, and Title I funding for schools that serve economically disadvantaged students in particular, Vitti said the district may experience "hurt and pain."
Only Congress can eliminate the federal department, but Trump's administration can weaken the department. Congress also hasn't indicated any cuts to Title I or other education funding such as money for services for students with disabilities, but many education advocates fear lawmakers will alter or partially cut those streams of funding in pursuit of major federal budget cuts.
Vitti added later that the direction the federal government has taken under Trump is "defunding the future of the most disadvantaged children in this country."
"I'm never going to tell you who to vote for," he said. "I'm going to tell you what I've always told you: You do your homework. "
The superintendent called for employees to "feel free" to advocate to local, state and federal officials to rally around public education amid so many proposed federal changes.
"This is no longer a drill," he said. "We have to stop thinking, 'Oh it's rhetoric; it's just an executive order.'... This is real, folks. ... We cannot wait, we cannot hope. We cannot pray alone to think that we're going to get through this without changing direction and advocating for something different and something better."
While 10% of state education funding is federal, about 32% of federal funding constitutes the Detroit public schools budget, Vitti said, which is because the district has a weak local tax base and a larger population of vulnerable students than many districts in the state.
Vitti said he is particularly concerned that Congress, in service of cutting $2 trillion from the budget, could eliminate portions of Title I funding, funding for teacher training, funding for English Learners, funding for programs that help low-income students improve learning experiences, Medicaid funding that helps students with disabilities, and funding for school lunch programs.
In Detroit, $124 million in Title I funding for the 2024-25 school year went to paying academic interventionists, funding for assistant principals, funding for literacy programs, and more purposes. If Congress cut 25% of Title I funding, the superintendent said, Detroit would see $30 million gone.
Vitti, stressing that no idea has been finalized, discussed several strategies district officials have thought up to address any potential budget cuts, including: accelerating the closure of schools that the district had already planned to close, reducing discretionary funds for purposes such as professional development and STEM programs, freezing hiring for vacant roles, delaying technology upgrades and eliminating commercial property insurance coverage.
"Myself and the board is already thinking about ways to keep people employed, mainly protect school staffing, protect student programming so reform can continue despite these cuts for the next year or two," he said.
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit schools superintendent: Trump 'not supportive of our children'
