Latest news with #FarmtoSchoolProgram
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amid threat of massive funding cuts, rural school administrators work overtime to balance uncertain budgets
On Jan. 27, 2025, the White House issued a late-night directive that paused federal grants and funding in order to locate and eliminate "woke" government spending. The pause seemingly included funding for public schools, such as the Farm to School Program that provided schools with locally sourced food. It wasn't long before Jared Cordon, superintendent of a rural school district in Roseburg, Oregon, started receiving calls from concerned community members. "If kids can't eat, where can I drop a check off?" they asked. On Jan. 29, the White House rescinded the sweeping pause, after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration's order. One funding crisis was temporarily averted. But with mounting uncertainty and anticipated cuts on the horizon, rural school administrators are working tirelessly to balance next year's budget, The Daily Yonder explains. They do so for the students, families, and faculty who rely on strong public schools—and for their rural communities at large, whose well-being is closely tied to the fate of their local schools. In addition to the Trump administration's chaotic management of federal grants, other funding challenges loom. Some rural districts are already facing steep funding cliffs, as COVID-19 emergency funds phase out over the next few years. Other rural districts are set to lose over $200 million of annual federal funding due to Congress's failure to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act (SRS), which helps support school districts in counties with public lands exempt from local property taxes. Some states experienced underperforming returns on their Public Employees Retirement System, which will require school districts to make higher payments to the system. Meanwhile, Republican-controlled states continue to push for universal school voucher programs, further diverting critical funds away from rural public schools. Beyond these immediate funding challenges, even more drastic shifts in federal education policy are unfolding. On March 20, the president signed an executive order to facilitate the eventual closure of the Department of Education. Congressional action is required to legally close the department or relocate key programs like Title I funding for low-income students or IDEA funding for special education to other departments. However, the administration already took some actions to slow the department's ability to distribute these funds by firing half of its staff. It remains unclear what additional actions Education Secretary Linda McMahon will take to further dissolve the department. A major role of many employees at the education department is to make sure federal dollars reach the right students, said Will Ragland, a former rural public school teacher and former Department of Education employee who now researches for the Center for American Progress, a progressive public policy institute. "[Federal funding] is intended to target, by-and-large, low-income students and students with disabilities. There are also programs that directly target rural areas, including grants to ensure their transportation needs are met and that rural kids can make it to school." Ragland said he worries that programs could meet the same fate as USAID funding, which the White House continues to block, despite numerous federal court orders. The administration has continued to follow the conservative Project 2025 playbook, according to Ragland, which outlines a 10-year phase-out of Title I funding. "Even though [Trump] said that [legally protected education] funding is not going to be touched, I worry they're going to start to phase out this funding," Ragland said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. "I worry that they say what they need to say at any given moment, but the larger plan is to eliminate the federal role in education altogether, including the funding." This growing uncertainty puts rural school districts, which often rely more heavily on federal funding and whose smaller budgets are hit harder by reductions, at greater risk. Rural school leaders, already working at a high capacity, are facing unpredictable finances by working overtime to create multiple contingency budgets. Jamie Green is a superintendent at Trinity Alps Unified School District in rural northern California, which is at risk of losing $3.5 million in SRS funding. He and other rural superintendents he's connected with put in 12- to 16-hour days when creating budgets or filling out federal grant paperwork. "During the day you have to support your kids, your parents, your teachers, and your principals. [Budgets and grant paperwork] have to be worked on after hours," he told the Daily Yonder. "It's difficult, but you signed up to lead, you didn't sign up to be a victim. You don't make excuses to your community. We won't make excuses." Oftentimes, the only way to balance the budget is by delaying essential maintenance or cutting teachers in art, vocational, or special education programs. In states like Oregon and California, this challenge is compounded by the fact that the final budget deadline arrives before schools have a clear picture of the funding they'll have for the upcoming year. Superintendent Cordon highlighted the importance of federal funding at a crowded February school board meeting in Roseburg, Oregon. About 12% to 13% of the district's budget comes from the federal government, Cordon told the crowd. "Not having federal funding would dramatically impact our ability to serve children," he said. Micki Hall, a former Roseburg teacher and school board member who now sits on the board's budget committee was in attendance. For Hall, budget cuts dredge up memories from her time as an educator. "Back in 2001 we faced a lot of budget crunches. The French teacher was laid off and they cut one of the German teachers," she said in an interview. "It's just frightening because it also has a chilling effect in the building. If you're not cut, you might be moved into a different, unfamiliar position." Across the country, rural districts are grappling with similar challenges, forced to make tough decisions that affect not just budgets but the very education and well-being of students and their communities. It's clear that the need for adequate and reliable support from state and federal governments is urgent, but superintendents like Cordon and Green—and the communities they serve—can't afford to focus solely on problems or delay action. The buck, Green said, stops with them. The only option they have is to do the work, put in the time, and find solutions. "Rural schools will not fail," Green said. "We're working as hard as we can for our students. We cannot fail." This story was produced by The Daily Yonder and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farm to School cut hits central Minnesota producers
Mar. 21---- Just a few weeks ago, Cindy VanDerPol put together bids to supply the , and — school districts next school year with beef, pork, chicken and eggs raised on her family's Pastures A Plenty farm between Clara City and Kerkhoven. She contacted small-town meat processors and a hatchery in the area to make sure they would be able to meet the farm's needs if awarded the bids. "The Farm to School Program was going to make a big impact on our farm," VanDerPol told U.S. Sen. Tina Smith , D-Minn., at a gathering of local food producers Tuesday at the Becker Market in Willmar. A few weeks after VanDerPol put her bids together, the announced it was ending funding for the Farm to School and other programs allowing child care centers and food shelves to purchase foods from local producers. The USDA will not honor agreements to provide more than $17 million over three years to help Minnesota schools purchase food from local farmers, according to a March 12, 2025, report by Minnesota Public Radio. Three generations of the VanDerPol family operate the farm, and are impacted directly by the federal budget cut, VanDerPol told Smith. VanDerPol said the impact will be felt well beyond her family's farm. Four different communities are affected too, as the processors who would have worked with the family will not see that economic activity, she pointed out. The Farm to School funding helps family farmers, and benefits the rural economy while also providing children with good nutrition, Smith said in response. "If suddenly the rug gets yanked out from under you, then it has a lot of ripple effects through the community, not to mention your business," she said. "The last time I checked, it's not easy to make a ton of money farming," she added. Buying local foods is not only good for the rural economy, it's also important for young people to know where their food comes from, according to Jeanine Bowman, food services director for the "It is truly about teaching our kids where their food comes from," Bowman told Smith. The purchases a wide variety of local foods for its students, thanks in part to Beverly Dougherty, founder and director of the Becker Market, according to Bowman. Her work makes possible a consistent supply of local foods for the district and area, she explained. Since its start about 17 years ago, the Becker Market has served as a food hub for local producers. Fresh and locally raised vegetables, fruits, meats and other products are available at the market year-round. Dougherty and her son, Jason, distribute the products to locations in a roughly 50-mile radius of Willmar, assuring a consistent supply of locally-raised foods to people in the region. Bowman said students in Morris appreciate the quality of local foods. She laughingly said she fears there would be a "revolt" in the district if it could not maintain its fresh egg fry every Thursday. Janeen Peterson, food and nutrition services director for the , told Sen. Smith that the nutritional value and the sustainability of growing our own foods is very important. Local food producers at the session said the Becker Market and food hub has helped them grow their operations. Dan Moe, an organic vegetable producer with in Hutchinson, said that until the Becker Market opened, he believed the only market for local foods was in the more populated area east of Hutchinson. Kent and Lori Peterson, of in Benson, said they've seen demand grow as well, especially last year. Thanks to the food hub and the market access it provides, they are able to grow in larger quantities. In fact, at what would be considered retirement age, they are expanding and adding a greenhouse, Kent Peterson told Smith. He urged the senator to continue working in Washington to support local foods. "We need your support to help people like Beverly, which in turn helps people like us," he said. Smith said she would continue to work in support of local foods. She decried the decision to cut funding for a program when it was expected to be in place for the coming year and more. "This is about the federal government making an agreement with a farmer in this country saying 'if you do this, we'll do that' and this administration is not living up to those agreements. (It's) putting farmers in an untenable position," Smith said.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What federal education cuts could mean for the state of Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — State leaders are giving their take on cuts being made at the U.S. Department of Education. State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey said some programs have already been terminated. One of those programs, the Farm to School Program, brings locally grown veggies to cafeterias. Dr. Mackey said he has concerns about those cuts. He said his team couldn't reach the U.S. Department of Education yesterday. As Dr. Mackey explained, the department cited staffing issues as the reasoning. Communication has since been restored, and he said it's been resolved. However, there are concerns. 'We're gonna do our work,' said Dr. Mackey. 'Of course, I certainly believe that it's the state government that has the most responsibility for education. And we know that. And, we take that very seriously. And we're gonna continue to serve our students. No matter what happens in Washington.' Jefferson County EMA encourages planning ahead for severe weather conditions Mackey assured teachers and parents there won't be disruptions. 'Yesterday, a little bit of money that was used to reimburse some teacher salaries was held up. No teacher in this state is even gonna know whether that money was directed at their salary or someone else's salary,' said Dr. Mackey. 'So, that's gonna be covered. Teachers don't need to worry about anything.' Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said she is all for shrinking government. 'Truth be known, every state has an education department. And I know we've got a good one in the State Board of Education and local boards that can handle education very well,' she said. 'So, I'm gonna trust President Trump on this one.' Despite the concerns, Dr. Mackey said he is excited about states having more freedom. 'Maybe this will be the time they can really think about 'what would some innovation look like,' and 'what would some flexibility look like,'' he said. 'It wouldn't necessarily apply to whole states. It might apply to districts to say, 'can a district do this, or do that?' And try something different.' Dr. Mackey said about 10% of school funding for the state comes from Washington. Even with the cuts, he said he is optimistic about what it could mean for the future of education in our state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
