Dismantling US Department of Education would be 'devastating' to Kentucky, teachers' union says

Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader on Mar 18, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — If staff cuts at the U.S. Department of Education are made permanent, the financial effect on Kentucky would be “devastating,” the state teachers union said Tuesday.

Class sizes would soar, job training programs would be cut, the cost of higher education would increase, special education services would disappear and civil rights protections would be ignored, said David Patterson, spokesperson for the Kentucky Education Association.

“We call on Kentucky’s Congressional delegation to stand up for our schools and publicly oppose these massive cuts, and to oppose any legislation that threatens to cut critical federal funding for our students and schools,” Patterson said in a statement.

The warning, issued by the union that represents more than 44,000 teachers and support professionals statewide, comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has said the U.S. Department of Education workforce will be cut in half, and Trump has said he wants to eliminate the department altogether.

Affected federal education department staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21, the latest in a string of moves by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to slash the federal workforce.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said last week that cuts to the U.S. Department of Education would make it difficult for Kentucky to “maintain capacity in critical areas and receive technical assistance.”

Patterson, the spokesperson for KEA, said public education is under attack in Kentucky.

Last year, Kentucky voters overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would have allowed for the use of taxpayer funds for school options other than traditional public schools.

Voters made clear “they want their hard-earned tax dollars invested in our public schools, which more than 90% of kids attend,” Patterson said. “Now, we face a federal attack on our public schools with massive staff cuts aimed at destroying the operational effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Education.”

Much of the work the federal agency does goes unnoticed unless you are directly involved in funding public education, Patterson said.

Federal grants like Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Pell Grants, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers play a crucial role in ensuring fair access to quality education across Kentucky and the nation, he said.

More than 459,000 students in Kentucky receive Title I funds through U.S. Department of Education funding. Kentucky public schools receive $281 million in federal funding to hire teachers and other school support staff, and $197 million in funding for special education programs for more than 109,000 students.

“Kentucky is one of nine states that receives $1 of federal funding for every $5 it spends on education,” Patterson said.

Some rural districts receive as much as one-third of their funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Patterson said.

“Without those federal funds efficiently administered by USDOE staff, many of Kentucky’s school districts will be unable to operate effectively, if at all,” he said.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Republican from Washington and vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee said last week in a statement on her website: “Donald Trump and (U.S. Secretary of Education) Linda McMahon know they can’t abolish the Department of Education on their own, but they understand that if you gut it to its very core and fire all the people who run programs that help students, families, and teachers, you might end up with a similar, ruinous result.”

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