Real Talk: Trump’s Proposed Education Budget

Tipping Point

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Tipping Point

5 min readJun 8, 2017

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An Interview with Ed Center

In May, the Trump Administration put forth a proposed education budget. While it will still be several weeks until the budget is finalized, the depth and scope of proposed changes all but guarantee major challenges for low-income individuals and families across the country.

Ed Center is a Senior Program Officer at Tipping Point Community, where he works with grantees to expand their impact in the fight against poverty. Ed came to Tipping Point with over two decades of experience in education and youth development as a high school teacher and leader at various non-profits, most recently overseeing education work at the United Way of the Bay Area. He is a husband and father, and a 22-year resident of San Francisco.

We sat down with him to discuss the Trump Administration’s proposed education budget as it is likely to affect our grantees, as well as parents and professionals like Ed across our region.

Tipping Point: What do you think the Administration hopes to accomplish with this budget?

Ed Center: It looks like they have two main objectives. The first is to reduce spending — this budget proposes a net reduction of $9.2B for the Department of Education, about 13% lower than last year. The other priority is to increase “school choice” by making it easier for students and parents to enroll outside their neighborhood public school through vouchers and “portable funding.” Portable funding means that, when a student moves to another public, public charter, or private school, the allocated federal dollars follow the student. The budget proposes $1B in additional funds to make this option accessible to more families.

Many in the media initially focused on the school choice issues, but I think that misses the bigger point. A billion dollars in increased funding for school choice doesn’t mean much when you cut over $10B from programs that largely serve poor and working class families. The main battle should be over the overall reductions which will devastate poor and working class families in insidious and long-term ways.

TP: What are some programs serving low-income students and their families that are now in jeopardy?

EC: Of the $10B in anticipated cuts, $2.1B will be from programs that train teachers and reduce K-12 class sizes, and nearly $500M from arts education and enrichment programs that cover mental health services, physical education, STEM instruction, and AP courses. In districts where resources are already stretched, these programs could disappear entirely.

The most dramatic changes affect higher education affordability. This budget cuts $700M from Perkins loans that serve 12 million low-income college students, and totally eliminates Stafford loans, which waive the interest on loans until low-income students graduate.

The proposed budget also ends student loan forgiveness for professionals in the social sector. Since the creation of this program in 2007, 550,000 students have graduated and become teachers, social workers, and public defenders, knowing that if they stay in these fields and make their payments on time, the balance of their student loans would be forgiven 10 years after graduating. The Administration says those already in the program won’t lose this guarantee, but future graduates may find themselves unable to serve in the way they would like to because of limits imposed by debt.

This budget also reduces funding for work-study programs by 50%. 1 in 10 full-time first-year undergrads participate in work-study programs — I myself couldn’t have gone to college without work-study. Moreover, we know that students touched by our education grantees are going to college at high rates, but many struggle to graduate. As we look to remedy this issue, we know that students need more, not less, economic support. Groups like College Track and Beyond 12 do important work helping kids get to college, but their efforts are undermined if those kids can’t figure out how to pay for it.

TP: How would this budget impact Tipping Point grantees and other non-profit organizations fighting poverty across the country?

EC: $1.2B cuts from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers will impact after-school programs like Citizen Schools. This presents a challenge for students and parents alike. Working class families need a place for their kids to be safe and hopefully learn something between 2–6pm. The great after-school program at my son’s school makes it possible for me to work at Tipping Point. As a middle class family we pay for this, but many can’t afford to do so.

This budget also cuts $166M from grants to states supporting career and technical education (CTE). Organizations like The Stride Center and Year Up use these funds to prepare our young people for the job market and help them build paths out of poverty.

Beyond the education-specific items, the proposed budget also aims to cut Medicaid drastically, and would eliminate funding for Americorps. Many of the folks our grantees serve rely on Medicaid for access to healthcare, both at home and for in-school vision and hearing screening. Americorps pays the wages of over 80,000 social sector workers, including folks working at City Year and Reading Partners, Tipping Point grantees that deploy young people to support low-income schools throughout the Bay Area.

TP: What can our community members do to make sure they have a voice in this process?

EC: Remember that Congress, not the President, makes final budget decisions. This is just a proposal, and we can influence how our representatives respond to it. Call their offices, write to them, attend town halls — these are all great ways to get their attention and make your voice heard. Don’t limit yourself to your representatives — post, write and start conversations, educate and activate the people in your social circles.

We at Tipping Point also believe strongly in building up our own community. 100% of all donations go right back out to our grantees to build their capacity and resilience. Visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to learn about additional opportunities to serve our neighbors and our region.

References

Real Talk: Trump’s Proposed Education Budget

Written by Tipping Point