PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education is sending ripples of fear across the nation, including here in Southwest Virginia.
“We just don’t know anything,” said Rob Graham, superintendent of Pulaski County Schools. “There’s just, we don’t know what the impact is going to be, we don’t know how to proceed, how it’s going to impact our budget, if it’s going to impact our budget.”
About 11 percent of Pulaski County Schools' budget is funded by federal dollars. That money supports reading programs, assistance for teachers, classroom sizes, and school nutrition programs.
“The really scary part to me is the amount of personnel that we have involved in those programs, and what that would mean,” Graham said.
To understand how this may impact Pulaski County Schools, I spoke with Graham. He said while they have known the possibility was there, it is still concerning.
“Are you concerned?” I asked.
“A little bit, yes. I think it’s concerning that 11% of the budget would be hard to make up,” Graham said.
I then talked to Rachel Simmers, a teacher who works with Title I students—those who need a little extra help outside of the classroom. This program is directly funded by federal aid.
“Sometimes they just need a smaller group. They just need a different setting. They need a different approach,” Simmers said. “Classroom teachers don’t always have the time in their day, and with other kids in their classrooms, I’m able to target those kids and really hone in on those skills that they need.”
Simmers emphasized she is currently focused on teaching the kids and doing the best she can for her students.
“I don’t want to put too much thought into it because I get nervous and scared,” she said.
I also spoke with Rachel Parker, assistant principal at Critzer Elementary, about the situation. She noted she has seen programs like Title I directly help kids.
“I have a kid myself who went through Title I, and really that helped her develop her decoding, her encoding to be able to function at a higher level,” Parker said.
She said right now, it’s just a waiting game to see what happens next.
