The destruction of public education

The Trump administration has drafted an executive order to destroy the Department of Education.   

“We will eliminate the federal Department of Education … we will drain the government education swamp…” 

He has also said clearly and publicly that he would slash education funding in half, direct more tax dollars to private schools and would cut off all funding to schools with vaccine requirements even though all of our public schools have such requirements. 

The Department of Education oversees K-12 Title 1 funding, supports programs for students with disabilities and administers Pell grants and loan programs supporting 30% of U.S. college students. Students and families will lose this support, leading to more students dropping out, fewer choices and fewer options for families.  

Kalispell schools receives over $800,000 in Title 1 funds used primarily for funding teacher salaries and for assisting students with special needs. 

President Trump’s platform also calls for the elimination of Head Start, a national program designed to prepare children from low-income families with critical early literacy skills so they can become more successful in school. Numerous studies have shown that participants in Head Start have better emotional regulation, increased reading skills, higher rates of graduation from high school and are more likely to attend college. Currently the program serves over 132 three- to five-year-old children in our valley. Losing Head Start and Title 1 funds have dangerous consequences for our most vulnerable children.   

Trump’s platform eliminates support for students receiving school lunches. To make matters worse, he wants to strip additional money from schools to support private schools through vouchers that siphon valuable funds from public schools. 

Given that Kalispell schools are currently operating with a $2 million deficit, deep slashes in school funding would completely devastate our schools and our students or require a massive increase in local property taxes to fund schools.   

Our public schools are the foundation of our future, the backbone of our country’s strength. We must recognize the dangers of Trump’s education agenda and what his presidency means for our children and their teachers.  

Contact our congressional representatives and urge them to demand support for the Department of Education and avoid a huge increase in property taxes.  

Carol Santa lives in Kalispell.