The Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 proposed budget calls for $4.5 billion in cuts to K-12 programs and $12 billion in total cuts to public education, including higher education programs. This is yet another effort to undermine public education following over $6 billion in withheld and delayed funding to public schools this summer, efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, and the recently approved federal tax credit voucher program.
The proposed budget aims to consolidate numerous programs including those for literacy instruction, support for vulnerable students, support for rural education, academic enrichment, art, school safety, student assessment, family engagement, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs into a single program with significant cuts to funding. The proposed budget also aims to eliminate support for community schools which provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services to students, families, and communities. Programs for educator development and support, adult education, and support for migrant students will also be eliminated.
West Virginia public schools will lose over $73 million in federal funding. Comparatively, the funding for the Hope Scholarship for this school year alone amounts to $110 million. If this funding was delegated for public schools rather than the Hope Scholarship, West Virginia could have had the capacity to fill the gap that will be left by the federal funding cuts. As it stands, our state does not have the ability to fill that gap. West Virginia is more reliant on federal funding than most other states. Federal funding made up half of the state’s budget for the current fiscal year, compared to about one-third of other states’.
The loss of these funds could mean the end of essential support for students, additional costs for families, and the loss of teachers and other school staff at a time when many public schools in our state are already struggling to meet the needs of their students. Public schools’ current hardships have resulted in numerous staff terminations, cuts to student programs and services, and school closures and consolidations across the state. More than 20 schools were closed or consolidated last school year–following over 50 in the previous five years–and there are even more closures on the horizon. In July, Roane County was placed under a state of emergency by the West Virginia Board of Education due to financial deficits that amount to about $2.5 million in FY 2025 and $2.9 million in FY 2026. In the attempt to close this deficit, Roane County proposed closing two schools at the end of the school year. Roane County will lose about $250,000 in federal funding under the proposed FY 2026 budget.
View this interactive tool to see the federal funds that your school district will lose if this budget is approved. Congress can still take action to maintain essential funding and protect public schools for children across the nation.
