Local superintendent speaks on impact of potential loss of federal funding

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in an effort to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, a campaign promise to shift more power over education to the states.

This week, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released a report tracking federal funding and its potential effect on Wisconsin.

WEAU’s Bob Gallaher spoke to a local superintendent about the impacts if the state loses that funding.

“Out of the 421 school districts in the state of Wisconsin I don’t know any superintendent that is pleased about this,” Eau Claire Area School District Superintendent Michael Johnson said.

The Department of Public Instruction says federal funding is essential to support the diverse needs of Wisconsin public school students. The DPI released a report this week stating the badger state receives $841 million in federal funding.

Eau Claire Area School District Superintendent Michael Johnson says losing that money would be catastrophic.

“This funding, if it’s in jeopardy, it’s in jeopardy. This is catastrophic for our students across the state, and across the nation. Rural kids, kids in poverty, kids with disabilities, and their families are impacted and we’re all impacted by it, and that’s what makes this so distressing,” Johnson said.

To understand the impact of federal funding, the DPI has developed a one-page flyer showing the amount of money allocated to Wisconsin public schools. They detail the amount of federal funding each district receives, the percentage of their revenue limit it represents, and the number of educator-equivalent jobs supported by these funds.

Johnson says massive cuts to the departments of education and agriculture greatly impact the students, teachers and their families.

“Even though it’s the Department of Agriculture and federal funding, that’s about 2.8/2.9 million dollars worth of food for our hungry students. Well, if you’re hungry then you’re not going to be able to learn. And then we get into the 5.6/5.7 million from the Department of Education where we get funding for our special education students, students with disabilities, our students in poverty, technical education programming, staff development, and that’s 63 positions in the Eau Claire Area School District,” Johnson said.

Johnson says simply relying on state lawmakers to help keep public schools properly funded is not an option.

“Our schools have been underfunded in Wisconsin. And that’s the part that’s distressing to me, federal funding that’s what we could count on from our federal government. To help take care of our students, our families and staff, especially those underrepresented groups that we speak of. But unfortunately, I don’t have the trust in our legislature right now because we’ve been fighting this battle for 30 years, and it’s at a breaking point right now for the students in the state of Wisconsin,” Johnson said.

Senator Jesse James gave the following statement in response:

To track the impact of federal funding in your area, visit the DPI website HERE: Tracking Federal Funding: The Effect on Wisconsin | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction