President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday instructing federal employees to begin “shutting down” the Department of Education. The move is controversial, since the executive branch does not appear to have the constitutional authority to shutter a department created by an act of Congress. Regardless, Trump is moving ahead with his plans, which align with the Project 2025 agenda. Trump acknowledged that it may require an act of Congress to fully dissolve the agency.
The US Department of Education provides funding to local schools and the state under programs like Title I, special education (IDEA), migrant and bilingual education, school nutrition, and career & technical programs. The President stated that oversight of these programs would be shifted to other agencies, and that funding would not be disrupted.
Washington’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Education recently released information about how federal funding impacted the 2023-24 budget of every school district in the state (the last complete fiscal year). The figures show that federal funding is a significant source of revenue for all local school districts.
Statewide, about seven percent of funding for education comes from the federal government. Locally, the numbers are somewhat higher. The figures below show the percentage of revenue coming from federal funding for local districts in 2023-2024. The figures do not include Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funding provided to help defray pandemic costs.
- Othello School District: 11.81%
- Moses Lake School District: 8.05%
- Warden School District: 9.90%
- North Franklin School District: 10.44%
The percentage of revenue from federal funds differs from district to district for a variety of reasons including poverty level, percentage of special education students, and other factors. While some districts receive more, superintendents of all four districts agree that even a partial loss of federal funding would be financially devastating.
Dr. Pete Perez, superintendent of the Othello School District said in an email that the district is watching developments on federal funding closely. “A partial or complete loss of federal funding would force us to make difficult decisions about how to sustain these essential services. While we don’t yet know what direction federal policy will take, we continue to monitor developments closely and advocate for the resources our students need,” he said.
