DeVos 'very seriously' considering withholding funding from schools that don't reopen

Since local schools depend for 90% of their funding from local sources, schools in poor areas get less funding, even thought their children might need more. This contributes to increased inequality.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/506427-devos-very-seriously-considering-withholding-funding-from-schools?fbclid=IwAR3Yd8hIW2q5wObPH9VZtOD5YUv_eRGsfDOHt72RoljMhh27VQPRzO_UOk8

By J. Edward Moreno - 07/08/20 03:07 PM EDT


Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Tuesday that she is “very seriously” considering withholding federal funding from schools that don’t reopen in the fall.

"We are looking at this very seriously. This is a very serious issue across the country," DeVos told Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

DeVos recently told state leaders on a conference call that plans to allow in-person activities only a few days a week were unacceptable, arguing that another semester of remote learning would hurt students.

She told Carlson on Tuesday that fears of coronavirus transmission from public health officials was an example of “fearmongering.”

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President Trump on Wednesday also threatened to cut off federal funding for schools if they do not resume in-person learning this fall and criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for being too tough with its guidelines to aid that process.

The existing CDC guidance, which is voluntary, emphasizes opening safely and that schools should dismiss classes for longer than two weeks only if there is “substantial” COVID-19 spread in their communities.

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According to the Congressional Research Service, public schools rely on local taxes for 90 percent of their funding. However, the Department of Education would be able to withhold the billions of dollars in stimulus funding allocated by Congress.

The American Federation of Teachers launched an ad this week saying they require more funding in order to reopen schools safely.