Q&A with Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Brett Richards
What effects could PLC Schools see next year if the U.S. Department of Education is taken away?
“All of this depends on how it would be done. There are thousands of regulations that are tied to U.S. Dept. of Education dollars. Will some of those go away or will they be transferred to the states to follow? If they transfer to the states, they will need more dollars to add staff to do what federal employees do now. If they get rid of a lot of the regulations for spending federal dollars, this could actually help in staff time at our level and at the state levels.”
What measures are being taken right now to prepare for that possibility?
“Right now, we are watching for what this could [look] like and what we’d have to do to prepare for it. So, we have memberships in federal associations that keep us up to date with federal issues. Making sure we pay close attention to those publications and discussing with state level officials is important. We also are in contact with senators and congress representatives at least quarterly to have these types of discussions. We’ll be ready to react to any changes at the federal level should they come, which usually take many years to take effect.”
What would be the immediate financial impact on our schools?
“We won’t know until we hear if they want to cut dollars by closing the U.S. Dept. of Education or redistribute dollars that were previously used at the federal level and give those additional dollars to the states. President-elect Trump has stated that the Department of Government Efficiency will give him their proposals by the summer of 2026, so hopefully, we’ll hear a lot more information over the next several months. I am not anticipating a loss of federal funds to support education if the U.S. Dept. of Education would close. …
[F]unding for schools is important to a lot of people.”
What options would the district have to cover the costs currently met by U.S. Department of Education funding?
“We wouldn’t have very many options to supplement the loss of federal dollars. We receive on average around $4 million a year from the federal government for Special Education and Title programs and grants. I don’t think we would see the loss of our federal dollars if the U.S. Dept. were to close, so we’d have to cross that bridge if and when the time would come.”
