Teacher layoffs, bigger classes: Potential federal education cuts could hit GOP’s base hardest

Some low-income communities that voted for him are worried about GOP efforts to cut education funding

When the coal mines closed in Bell County, Kentucky, a community that once powered the nation was left forgotten, with few well-paying jobs or prospects. Many of its residents now live in poverty among empty storefronts and the stunning vistas of the Appalachian Mountains. It’s the sort of place where President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” message resonated – but also where some of his proposed policies could hit hardest, especially his promise to eliminate the Department of Education and slash federal funds to public schools. Bell County’s school district typically receives 10% of its budget from federal dollars, though it has been higher in recent years due to Covid-19 relief funds. Even a slight reduction in those dollars could have devastating effects for students and their families, said Tom Gambrel, the district’s superintendent. It would mean teacher layoffs, bigger classroom sizes and less attention for their most vulnerable students. A CNN analysis found that all of the 15 states that relied most heavily on federal support for their public schools in 2022 voted for Trump, while all but two of the 15 states that received the least federal dollars as a percentage of their overall revenue voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. Gambrel, like most of Bell County, said he cast his ballot for Trump in November with his students in mind. “I don’t think that anyone in our county wants to cut our school funding. And I don’t think that anyone voted for that,” he said. Gambrel said he believes his vote won’t harm his students and hopes that Trump’s plans to cut federal education funding won’t come to pass. If it does, he said, it would be “catastrophic.”