NC sues Trump administration over $50 million in cuts to rural or low-income schools :: WRAL.com
The North Carolina Department of Justice sued the Trump administration Wednesday, accusing the federal government of illegally cutting almost $50 million in grant money meant for rural and low-income areas.
The U.S. Department of Education sent out letters across the country this month, notifying states of cuts to grants awarded as part of the Full-Service Community Schools program. Congress approved funding for the program in 2023. North Carolina education leaders earmarked the money for 18 school districts and 55 schools. Schools in Durham and Orange counties were among those that benefited.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said the funding loss will force schools to shut down programs and could lead to layoffs in the middle of the school year. The cuts were slated to take effect Wednesday, prior to several lawsuits nationwide that have tied them up.
“Our kids deserve better,” Jackson said in a statement. “A surprise cut of nearly $50 million from rural schools, with virtually no notice and no allegation of misuse, is unlawful and harmful.”
The lawsuit is one of many filed this year by Jackson, a Democrat, against Republican President Donald Trump over Trump’s attempts to slash federal programs that benefitted North Carolina.
Jackson’s office said the federal funding in question proved vital during the state’s response to Hurricane Helene. School districts in Western North Carolina used the money to help families find temporary housing.
Jackson’s office is arguing that the Education Department broke the law with the funding cuts because the Constitution gives Congress the power to direct federal spending, not federal agencies.
The U.S. Department of Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, or to explain its rationale for cutting the funds.
Jackson’s office sent WRAL a copy of the notice sent out by the Trump administration. In it, an assistant secretary for the education department says the decision was made because the grant money goes toward “…programs that reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration.” In the letter, the department claims the program proposed a project violates the department’s policy to prioritize “merit, fairness and excellence in education.”
Leaders from the North Carolina Community Schools Coalition, the group in charge of implementing the grant money, appealed the decision. They claimed the federal government misunderstood how the money was being spent, but they lost that appeal.
This is not the first time the NCDOJ has taken aim at the Education Department. North Carolina was one of 25 states in July to successfully sue the federal government over frozen education funding. As a result, the Education Department eventually released billions of dollars for schools nationwide, including $165 million earmarked for North Carolina.
