As President Trump and Elon Musk continue working to dismantle important federal institutions like the Department of Education, rural counties like those in Northeastern North Carolina will likely bear the brunt of the impact. 

Positions within the Institute of Education Sciences have been nearly gutted. There are fewer than 20 employees in a division that had more than 175 in January. This division is charged with collecting information to help determine best teaching practices. The Department of Education more broadly ensures that students are receiving funding who need it most, filling the gaps left when states and local school districts cannot foot the bill, upholding civil rights protections, and assisting students in securing financial aid for higher education. 

I am troubled more each day by the cuts we see at the federal level, particularly as an educator and seeing what is happening to the Department of Education. If we continue to defund these programs and agencies that help ensure students are successful, regardless of their income or background, then there will only be an increased divide between the haves and have nots.

I was a high school sophomore in Halifax County Schools when the district joined the Leandro v. State school funding lawsuit in 1994 as one of five original plaintiffs.

I started my teaching career in HCS and my children all currently attend the district, so I view the ongoing litigation through the lenses of student, teacher and parent. 

I’m deeply concerned about the further impact of these cuts in a state that has struggled for over 30 years with its constitutional obligation to adequately fund K-12 education. 

We’re talking about reductions or delays in Title I funding and monies that go towards students with disabilities, or limiting support for after school programs and other support services. 

That is the wrong direction for our state and nation, and severely hurts communities like mine — Rodney Pierce, state House District 27