Like many of the Republican’s executive orders issued since he returned to office in January, his effort to shutter the DOE is in legal limbo. While Trump argues the move is to curtail government bureaucracy and waste, groups like the Somerville Public Schools and NAACP have filed suit arguing it would unlawfully overstep congressional authority and would hurt educators, parents, and students.
During an Oval Office press conference in March, the president outlined his vision for the country in a decentralized, post-DOE world.
“In New York as an example, you'd go to Long Island, Westchester, you may have Nassau County, Queens County, you break it up in certain ways," said Trump. "So, they'd have maybe five departments. Because of the size, they'd have five departments instead of one. A state like Iowa, you'd have one.”
Barbara Malkas is the superintendent of the North Adams Public Schools, which serves around 1,200 students in the second-largest community in Berkshire County.
“The US Department of Ed was created by then President Carter back in 1980," she explained. "So, in terms of public institutions, it's a more recent event, but it was really formed to promote equity in response to the impact from The Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty. That's where the foundation of the US Department of Ed comes from, and the mission of that institution has been about emphasizing education as a tool for social justice and equality, which I'd like to believe is what America is about.”
Outside of those larger themes, Malkas says a more basic and essential resource is on the chopping block.
“The largest part of federal funding that is spent on education is for food- It's actually supporting our reduced and free lunch programs," the super intendent told WAMC. "And that affects all states, including states who voted overwhelmingly for this administration.”
She says any cuts there will immediately impact low-income families who rely on the school system for basic nourishment- the same population that will be concurrently hit with the impact of other Trump efforts to slash government spending.
“In the absence of that then those families are required now to provide food that they may not meet, have the amount of assistance through other agencies to be able to accommodate that,” said Malkas.
She worries about cascading effects.
“The reality is that child is still coming to school and not having had breakfast or lunch, which will affect learning, which will further create disparities in terms of academic gain,” Malkas said.
In terms of the coming fiscal year, the superintendent is also worried about competitive grants from the DOE like the 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool programs.
“Those require a congressional allocation, and so losing those grants would be very harmful to my families who rely on those afterschool and summer programs to help support and offset childcare so that parents are able to remain working,” said the superintendent.
Malkas says if the North Adams schools lose the roughly $6.5 million in federal entitlement grants the district receives yearly, she doesn’t have a contingency plan that can make up for the loss.
“But at this point, I don't know what I'm preparing for anyway, because they haven't really defined what will it look like in terms of block grants, or will it be followed according to law and brought to Congress for Congress to make decisions or changes in the law," she told WAMC. "A lot of the federal and national organizations are saying, basically, hold tight that for Fiscal Year ’26, there probably wouldn't be any changes in the law or the funding formula associated with Title I and IDEA, but we don't actually have anything definitive and, quite frankly, we're not sure what will matter.”
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA is a Federal Special Education Entitlement Grant that ensures equitable access to public education for students with disabilities.
Roughly 40 miles south of North Adams lies the Berkshire Hills Regional School District. While the two districts have roughly the same number of students, the Berkshire Hills community is comparatively rural and comprises the towns of Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge. While North Adams’ median annual household income is around $49,000 per recent census data, Great Barrington’s sits at around $83,000.
“Federal funds represent about 10% of our budget, and they really come in three areas. So, there's some grants that are often referred to as the title grants- Title I, II, III, Title IV, and Title I is the biggest of them, and that's to support students from low-income families," said Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon. “We think that's tied up in court orders and other things, so we don't think that's particularly vulnerable, which is good. The second big bucket of support is around special education, and that's often bucketed in the IDEA funds, and that's also driven by court orders and laws, and kids with special needs are entitled to particular services. So, we think those funds, at least for the moment, are also protected. The third set of resources are money that comes through the USDA to support food services, and we also think, at least for the moment, those are protected. So, I'm cautiously optimistic that we're in okay shape.”
In the face of uncertainty, Dillon says he’s honing an approach for navigating the choppy funding waters of the second Trump term.
“I think it's around being nimble and being responsive," the superintendent told WAMC.
"We've always done a really good job, I think, of using our resources effectively, and there’ll likely be some additional belt tightening and some realignment. And then I think at the same time, people need to stand up and speak about what they feel is important and what should be supported."
In a statement Tuesday, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey condemned Trump’s move last week to cut $106 million in the commonwealth’s K-12 education grant funding, describing it as illegal and damaging.
