DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

 

 

Federal funds ensure Mary Beth Patton’s two daughters, who have disabilities, get needed special education support at school. But with the looming threat of federal education cuts and the president’s push to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, she and others fear a loss of crucial resources for area children.

The U.S. Department of Education provides about 12% of education funding for elementary and secondary public schools in the commonwealth, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. Federal funds also largely supply school meals via the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Altogether, these federal grants provide more than $1 billion to Kentucky schools, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy – covering programs that serve low-income students, special education services, teacher training, school meals and far more.

Patton was one of the community members and educators at the Lisa Rice Library to advocate Monday for U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, and other federal representatives to protect school resources supplied by federal monies. The four are members or supporters of Protect Our Schools KY, a partnership of public education advocates and organizations that previously advocated against last year’s Amendment 2 ballot measure, which would have allowed public funding to be directed toward educational choices that aren’t traditional public schools.

Protect Our Schools KY, which organized Monday’s event, noted that its advocacy comes amid the potential threats on the federal level to public school education.

The organization also issued an open letter Monday that urges Guthrie to “publicly oppose any efforts that could weaken Kentucky’s public schools or cut or threaten critical funding.” It adds that the U.S. Department of Education supplies more than $83 million to the congressional district, which supports the equivalent of some 758 teachers, counselors and other school employees.

Thirteen superintendents signed the letter by Monday night.

“While the exact plans and their implications are not yet clear, we know these moves have the potential to result in sweeping harm in Kentucky, where federal funding is a substantial part of public school budgets and is particularly important in rural districts and to kids with the greatest needs,” said Warren County Public Schools teacher Brooke Vincent, one of the speakers.

She noted the funding WCPS alone receives in federal grants outside of school meals – more than $12 million for the 2024-25 school year, according to federal allocations data published by KDE for the year.

“Can you imagine having to cut our district’s budget by $12 million?” Vincent said. “That would mean fewer teachers, larger class sizes, and reduced support for our most vulnerable students. These cuts would be devastating, and we must not stand by and ‘wait and see’ what happens.”

The speakers centered on the importance of federal funds for special education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates “mak(ing) available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities” – and IDEA grants provided $181.5 million in special education funding for students statewide the previous school year, including $4 million for WCPS and $1.1 million for BGISD, according to another KDE allocations chart.

Butler County Special Education Teacher Tracy Morris spoke on how funding for IDEA and Title I, which supports school districts for children from low-income families, provide a wide range of supports for children.

Regarding tools, for example, there’s the lanyard she’ll wear to amplify her voice for a hearing-impaired student when the hearing aids aren’t sufficient. There’s the monoculars for a child with visual impairment. The tablet that allows nonverbal children to have a voice.

“Yes, we teach them sign language, but to have a voice for the first time by themselves is incredible, and the look on their face the first time that box says something for them … It means something,” she said.

“My students have gross motor and fine motor needs, hearing impairment, learning disabilities, autism, etc., and IDEA funds pay for tools that put my students on a more level playing field with their similar-aged peers,” Morris said. “These tools open up opportunities to students with special needs that they may not have otherwise … Without these funds, my students will not be able to work at their individual ability level.”

Kim Coomer, who teaches high school students who have disabilities at WCPS’s Area Technology Center, shared similar concerns to Morris’.

“It’s critical,” she said of the funding. “Our jobs help create futures for other humans … We are that buffer. We give them the skills that they need to go out into their communities and into life and succeed. And they’re talking about taking funding away from that.”

Patton, whose children attend county schools, explained that her younger daughter is neurodivergent and has ADHD, while her older daughter lives with cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

A special education teacher, along with paraeducators, carry out the educational plan for her older daughter, who has also gotten support from schools through occupational and physical therapy, she said.

Physical therapists for moderately-to-severely disabled students, she added, are extremely important. Her daughter, for example, can’t walk, and for children like her and students in wheelchairs, these therapists are important for seating and special equipment, she said.

The possibility that funds for these kinds of services can be eliminated sparks outrage, anger and confusion, Patton said.

“If the U.S. Department of Education is dismantled, who will ensure our districts get what they need?” Patton said. “If funding is transferred somewhere else, how will we ensure it will look like what we’re receiving now? Our public schools serve as the heartbeat of our communities. We must do all we can to safeguard them to ensure that all students receive what they need to thrive.

I urge Congressman Guthrie, and all of Kentucky’s federal delegation, to publicly oppose any effort that can cut or threaten school funding. When he votes on items related to education, I hope he keeps students like my daughters in mind.”