FALLS VILLAGE—Defunding and dismantling has been the order of the day in Washington, but local officials are still waiting to see what the turmoil will mean for the residents of the Northwest Corner.
On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education. While the department cannot be scuttled unless Congress votes to abolish it, the president’s directive to Education Secretary Linda McMahon calls for her to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities … .”
McMahon appeared on CNN’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, March 23, to outline plans to redistribute Education Department programs, promising the federal money behind those programs would not be cut. She said the DOE’s oversight of special needs education would be handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services while the Small Business Administration would take over the $1.6 trillion business of federal student loans.
“Right now, we have not seen any impact, even with the moves last week,” said Melony Brady-Shanley, superintendent of schools for Region 1, which serves Kent, Cornwall, Sharon, Salisbury, Falls Village and Canaan. “What we don’t know is what will or won’t happen in the future. It’s a wait-and-see game.”
She said Region 1 is in a relatively strong position as it gets only 8 percent of its funding from the federal level. “The vast majority of funding for special programs comes from the state and local dollars. That is definitely more secure,” she said.
Brady-Shanley said she didn’t “want to go down the road of politics,” but ventured that she did not think the government’s plan to return educational authority to the states “has been well executed or managed. They have no definitive plan of how it will be handled.”
“There is a lack of communication about ‘Here’s what we had and here’s where to find it—or not find it—in the future,’” she said.
Governor Ned Lamont agrees. He appeared Wednesday, March 26, at “In the Room,” a monthly public discussion with John Dankosky, director of events for the CT Mirror. Asked about the possible changes looming in Washington, D.C., Lamont admitted he has no idea what will happen next.
He said he had spoken with McMahon, who in 2009 was appointed to the Connecticut Board of Education. “Linda says there is no plan to cut funding, but if DOGE gets in there, I have no idea what will happen.”
Connecticut’s public schools, which serve more than half a million students, could lose $321 million.
Lamont sees it as his job to protect society’s most vulnerable. “It’s all about the kids and focusing on the best education system to give them the very best opportunity,” he said.
He focuses special attention on low-income children in urban schools because of the trauma they often encounter outside of school. “They are taking everything into the classroom,” he said. “Those are the kids I worry about. We must protect the most vulnerable.”
Asked what he would do to compensate if funding cuts come, he indicated that there are steps that could be taken to cover the loss, but added that if big funding cuts hit other programs such as Medicaid, he wouldn’t be able to make up the shortfall.
Despite the uncertainty, he still wants to institute universal pre-kindergarten at no cost for people earning $100,000 or less. “It gives children a chance and teachers say it makes a difference,” he said. “And as a business guy, I love it because more young families would want to be here.”
Brady-Shanley received a communication from Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) Monday, March 24, that outlined its position. It said CAPSS “joins the Connecticut State Department of Education in recognizing the seriousness of the executive order recently signed by President Donald Trump calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education,” and expressed “unwavering commitment to ensuring that every child in Connecticut receives a high-quality, equitable public education.”
Noting that “public education is—and must remain—a cornerstone of our democracy,” the statement expressed deep concern about the federal government “weakening or eliminating” its role in protecting student rights, promoting equity and supporting critical programs for vulnerable learners.
Connecticut has joined with 22 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit to stop the administration’s spending freeze. In a March 6 ruling, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. said the spending freeze “fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”
The Trump administration has appealed the finding, and the availability of already approved funding is still uncertain, according to Brady-Shanley.
“We don’t get all the money at one time, and it is dispersed throughout the year,” she explained. “The state draws from the federal level and then it is distributed from there. We [recently] had a couple of drawdowns from the state, but I am unsure of how many more there will be for this year.”
