Trump's budget proposal takes chop at teacher training, could cost Hamilton County Schools $1.8 million

Staff photo illustration by Matt McClane / Getty Images
Staff photo illustration by Matt McClane / Getty Images

Title II funds received by school districts in fiscal 2017:

Bledsoe County $84,266Bradley County $264,755Cleveland city $222,912Coffee County $137,894Franklin County $228,467Grundy County $146,734Hamilton County $1,854,179Marion County $185,089McMinn County $183, 333Meigs County $84,995Polk County $102,199Rhea County $165,851Sequatchie County $82,824Source: Tennessee Department of Education

The budget reductions

In total, $3.9 billion flows through the state from the federal government, according to the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.Numerous services would be cut under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, including:Title ITitle I funds primarily serve schools that have a high number of low-income students. The funds would be held flat in the federal budget and $1 billion would be added and used, instead, for school choice programs.Title IIThe state received $38 million from Title II for 2016-17 to help in development of teachers and district leaders, and educator recruitment and retention.Title IVThe state expected to receive $8 million in 2017-18 in block grants for foreign language or magnet programs such as AP, IB and dual enrollment programs. The money also pays for student health and safety and the effective use of technology in schools.21st Century Community Learning CentersThe after-school centers serve more than 30,000 Tennessee students and are intended to provide enrichment during nonschool hours, particularly for those in high-poverty areas. Tennessee received more than $24 million in 2015-16 to serve 70 of the state’s 146 districts. Trump’s budget would eliminate the program.About $75,000 went to the state’s Achievement School District, which is tasked with turning around Tennessee’s lowest performing schools.Individuals with Disabilities Act funding Money for the act and other special education programs would be held flat or cut, although the number of students needing services is projected to increase. Career and Technical EducationThe grant to the states would be reduced by about $45 million in Tennessee.Source: The Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth via The Tennessean

Schools across the country are bracing for the impact of the Trump administration's proposed education budget, and Tennessee's top education officials worry its elimination of funding for teacher training threatens to slow student success.

The proposed budget cuts all Title II funding - $2.4 billion - designated for teacher support and training across the states. If Congress approves the budget, Tennessee stands to lose about $35 million in Title II funds.

"These are the only federal funds focused on teacher improvement and growth, and it is absolutely critical these are protected," Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said Thursday. " Our students have shown incredible growth over the last few years, and we will not continue to see that same success unless we fully support our educators."

McQueen sent a letter June 13 urging U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to reconsider eliminating Title II funds, saying they are critical to students' success.

Hamilton County Schools received $1.85 million in Title II money this year, and losing that money would be devastating, school officials said. Across the region, officials in smaller and rural districts worry that a significant share of funds for teacher development could vanish.

In the letter to DeVos, McQueen noted that teachers are the No. 1 in-school factor in improving student achievement. She wrote that "supporting our teachers and leaders from educator preparation programs, to the classroom, and through their careers is the only way to achieve success for all students."

Tennessee's 146 school districts use Title II funding to augment salaries for teachers in leadership roles, recruit quality teachers, provide training and support for educators and hire academic coaches, among other things.

If those federal dollars disappear in fiscal 2018, the costs will fall on local taxpayers or force cuts to already strained school budgets.

Jill Levine, chief academic officer for Hamilton County Schools, said the district depends on Title II dollars to foot the bill for most of its professional development and to pay for about a dozen positions across the system.

"Nobody is born a great teacher," Levine said Friday. "People learn the art and the craft of teaching by being continual learners and being a part of continued development."

The district has taken strides to bolster its professional development and teacher leadership opportunities in the last year, and school leaders believe it's proving effective and helping teachers improve.

If Title II money disappears, Hamilton County Schools may not be able to offer the same opportunities in the coming year, Levine said, noting that other federal education funding also is shrinking and the county is not raising taxes to boost school funding this year.

"At this point, we've cut so much out of the district's budget I don't know what else we would cut," she said.

McQueen said the same is true in rural districts, which typically don't have a tax base or private money to turn to when federal dollars are lost.

"It is imperative that rural districts are successful in developing their local talent, because it is more challenging for them to recruit teachers from outside their community," McQueen wrote.

Jason Bell, an executive board member of the Tennessee Rural Education Association, said the consequences of funding cuts for rural districts are often overlooked.

"Rural districts are already doing so much with so little," he said. " Anytime there is a cut, rural districts' budgets are so small, it's really significant."

Bell, also the supervisor of secondary curriculum and assessment for Polk County Schools, said the district is going to face tough budget decisions if Title II funds disappear.

This year, Polk County Schools received about $102,000 in Title II dollars and used it for leadership training, teacher development and a hodgepodge of other supports for teachers, Bell said. Without that money, the district likely will have to choose between cutting most of its staff development or eliminating other things, he added.

"We are having to think about cutting more positions," he said. "And we've already cut some positions."

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to McQueen's letter or the Times Free Press' request for comment.

But the Trump administration's budget proposal states Title II funds are "poorly targeted and spread thinly across thousands of districts with scant evidence of impact."

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Though it's one of the single- largest line items cut, Title II funding isn't the only thing on the chopping block this year. Overall, Trump's budget proposes to cut education funding by about $9 billion - 13.5 percent.

Other cuts include college assistance for low-income students, mental health services in schools, art programs, language studies and anti-bullying activities.

The administration hopes to use some of the savings to boost school choice - its top priority - by about $400 million. Another $1 billion is being set aside to push public schools across the country to adopt choice-friendly policies.

But the education department's largest expenditures in K-12 education - special education and Title I funds that support poor children - are unchanged from the first half of fiscal 2017. However, schools educating large shares of poor students are likely to receive less money because of a new law that allows states to take a percentage of Title I money for school improvement initiatives before distributing the funds to districts.

Hamilton County Schools expects to lose 13 percent of its Title I funding, from about $12.6 million to about $11 million. This change is the result of several national and state factors.

Along with federal education cuts, proposed changes to the way Medicaid is distributed could take away an estimated $4 billion in annual reimbursements to schools for services they provide to students with disabilities.

The administration's budget proposal is far from finalized, and resistance is expected from Capitol Hill. Some lawmakers are fierce opponents of DeVos, are opposed to vouchers and want to protect their states' education funding.

Tennessee has increased support of teachers by $100 million this year and by $300 million since 2015, and McQueen said the state absolutely believes these are the right investments.

"But we all have to come to the table to support our schools financially, and that is why the federal proposal is so concerning to us, particularly in the cuts it makes to Title II," she said.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@times freepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.

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