Cuts to the U.S. education system are expected to create a ripple effect on students, and staff at already struggling school districts.
Hamtramck serves more than 2,900 students, including 300 in special-education programs. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education laid off nearly half of its employees, with approximately 89 contracts, totaling close to $900 million. Toni Coral is a teacher and president of the Hamtramck Federation of Teachers. She highlighted how these cuts will hit her district.
“Hamtramck is a district with a lot of what we call Title I students, at-risk students, and poorer families,” Coral said. “If Title I went away or if it was substantially reduced, we would lose teachers and our students would lose a lot of services.”
There are plans to get rid of 17 federal education programs and slash almost $5 billion from Title I funding. This could lead to 72,000 teachers losing their jobs in schools that serve low-income students across the country.
Staff members from the U.S. Department of Education will be placed on administrative leave starting this Friday. The federal government seeks to slash spending by as much as $2 trillion.
