As President Donald Trump pushes for the closure of the U.S. Department of Education, local educators and officials are trying to calculate how the move could impact next year’s Buncombe County Schools (BCS) budget.
At a meeting March 3, BCS Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Reed gave the Buncombe County Board of Education a rundown of how the biggest pot of federal money it receives — Title I funding — is vital to the district’s mission of educating every student.
“We don’t know exactly how much funding that we’re going to receive, and with so much of our funding being directed toward personnel costs … we are very hopeful that we’ll receive the same level of funding or more,” she told the board.
The typically dependable federal funding is in doubt after an executive order signed by President Trump March 20 directed U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.” As of March 21, 50% of the department’s workforce was placed on administrative leave, including most of the department’s data experts responsible for determining what schools qualify for Title I funding.
In a March 11 news release announcing the cuts, the department said that it would continue to administer all “formula funding,” including Title I, which is protected by law.
Title I funding, which began in 1965, provides school districts with financial assistance to help serve children from low-income families. The law aims to close the achievement gap between children meeting academic standards and those who aren’t, according to Reed.
BCS’ largest pot of federal money, which makes up about 6.5% of its overall budget, comes from Title I. About 90% of the $7.2 million is spent on school-based personnel at 27 schools eligible for Title I funding in the district, including 22 elementary schools. More than 3,100 students in kindergarten through sixth grade are served by Title I-funded staff across BCS, according to Reed’s presentation.
The district focuses much of its efforts on literacy, employing 118 reading specialists, instructional assistants and tutors with Title I funding, as well as some administrators in the central office, Reed said.
Funding is also used in school improvement plans and to encourage family engagement at Title I schools.
Board member Charles Martin said family involvement is an important part of Title I’s success and encouraged more parents to participate in the program.
“It’s very important that we show our kids that we appreciate them, that we love them and we want them to be better,” he said.
Board member Kim Plemmons voiced concern that Title I funding will be on the chopping block.
“I’m fearful of these federal budget cuts that we keep hearing about because it’s something like this that can be taken from us. Not to put fear into people, but it’s real. If we don’t have funding for this … it will be detrimental to public education, and so I am very grateful for the Title I folks,” she said.
For now, Reed said the district is budgeting based on the assumption that Title I will be funded the same level as it was last year.
BCAE delivers petition asking district for ‘no-cuts’ budget
“Post-Helene, what our students need is more resources, not less,” said Shanna Peele, president of the Buncombe County Association of Educators. “I can understand feeling like the odds are stacked against us, but our kids’ futures are too bright and too important for us to back out.”
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners clawed back $4.7 million collectively from BCS and Asheville City Schools (ACS) in January and now expect revenues for this year to come in $15.6 million under projections. That clawback forced school districts to dip into reserves and has advocates worried that cuts will continue next year.
With over half of Buncombe County Schools’ more than 3,400 employees now signed on to a petition — 1,808 as of April 3 — Peele said the schools community has an opportunity to be united in its request of county commissioners.
“We are coming to you today with a unity and resolve we’ve never had before. That’s because the majority of Buncombe County school staff stand united on this petition asking for a no-cuts budget, because we know that we are stronger together.”
In the petition, BCAE is asking the county to ensure BCS has the funds to maintain all pre-Helene staff positions at the same or better compensation to provide the same level of programming and services for students. The association is also asking commissioners to restore the $4.7 million cut from ACS and BCS in January.
“Our students and our staff are ready to do everything we can, and we need you to be all in to do all you can to make sure our kids don’t show up with less in August than they had before the storm,” Peele told board members.
Editor’s note: This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing
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