This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Public school districts still face potential federal funding cuts following President Donald Trump’s move to slash U.S. Department of Education staffing in half.
School divisions across Virginia are developing their budgets for the next fiscal year with federal dollar allocations intact. (Virginia’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30; the federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.)
Some officials, however, fear that Trump’s efforts to eliminate the department — as well as executive actions compelling school divisions to erase programs and policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion — could put that money at risk.
If entirely eliminated, Virginia schools would need to fill a $2.4 billion funding gap with new sources. That means localities and the commonwealth would need to cover costs for instructors in high-poverty schools, food programs for low-income students and teacher training programs designed to improve student achievement.
The commonwealth’s school divisions received an average of 11.1% of their funding from the federal government during the 2022-23 school year, according to Virginia Department of Education data; 22 counties received at least 20% of their money from Washington.
Greater Richmond schools could face challenges
Hanover County received one of the 10 smallest shares of federal money that year, at 6.9%; Chesterfield and Henrico counties, and the city of Richmond, got between 9% and 10% of their funding from federal sources.
The share of federal money for Richmond Public Schools has diminished in recent years. The city’s public schools received at least 14% of funding from the federal government in every other school year since 2017-18, according to VDOE. Alyssa Schwenk, RPS director of communications, told VPM News via email that “federal funds play a small but incredibly meaningful role when it comes to equity.”
Meanwhile, Henrico’s share of federal money has increased in recent years. According to an analysis by the Associated Press, in the 2021-22 school year Henrico was one of the nation’s 100 largest school districts least dependent on federal funding — about 7.4% of the division’s budget that year.
Charlottesville has relied more on federal dollars than it did before the pandemic. Charlottesville City Schools got 13.6% of its money from the federal government in 2023-24 — more than double what it received prior to 2020, and more than triple compared to neighboring Albemarle County.
It’s the localities with the least amount of resources who are really getting screwed here.
Funding cuts threatened after Albemarle lawsuit fails
Albemarle County school officials told VPM News they’re still working to understand how changes in Washington could impact their division. “We’re going to comply with any applicable laws,” school district spokesperson Helen Dunn said. The district’s proposed budget for 2025-26 school year includes about 4% drawn from federal money.
In January, when Trump signed an executive order calling for the erasure of “radical indoctrination” in public K-12 schools, the president said the government would pull federal funding for school districts to ensure compliance.
The White House specifically called out Albemarle’s 2019 anti-racism policy in documents explaining the order’s purpose. A fact sheet associated with the order, published by CBS 19 in Charlottesville, says the policy made a student think that her achievement in school was “based on her race rather than her individual merit.”
Adopted during Trump’s first presidency, Albemarle’s anti-racism policy remains in place after the Virginia Supreme Court declined last year to hear an appeal in a yearslong case five families filed against the county’s school board to challenge it.
Despite the school division’s goal to combat discrimination, parents alleged that it created a racially hostile educational environment and violated students’ free-speech rights.
The Circuit Court of Albemarle County threw out the case in April 2022. The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in February 2024.
Legal challenges complicate Trump’s efforts
There are many legal hurdles that would prevent Trump from fulfilling his promises to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. While some of the federal agency’s budget is discretionary, most spending priorities are mandated by law. Congressional action would be required to close the entire department or to cut funding for programs such as Title I — which supports low-income schools — or IDEA, which supports special education students.
While Trump has said he would pull school funding based on compliance with his orders targeting DEI policies, the department’s elimination would not erase all federal sources of school funding.
The US Department of Health and Human Services, for example, funds preschool initiatives under the Head Start program; the U.S. Department of Agriculture covers the cost of free school breakfast and lunch programs.
In an interview Friday morning, Virginia state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D–Henrico), who is also a Henrico County teacher, said he’s concerned that Trump’s actions could have a wide ranging impact — as his orders have suggested all federal funding could be pulled from schools in some cases.
“It’s the localities with the least amount of resources who are really getting screwed here,” VanValkenburg said. “I think you're going to see the localities and the state try to do everything they can to make it whole. But the main underlying throughline here is that the federal government's policies are driving a huge level of educational inequality and hurting the kids that most need it.”
Even with federal funding intact, VanValkenburg added, staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Education could curtail the administration of programs intended to help train teachers and conduct investigations into alleged civil rights violations at schools across Virginia.
Democratic attorneys general in 20 states have filed suit, alleging that mass layoffs at the Department of Education are an illegal attempt at dismantling it. (Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, is not listed among the plaintiffs.)
In response to questions about the recent federal staffing decisions and potential funding cuts impacting Virginians, a spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not directly answer VPM News’ questions about whether the governor supports eliminating the agency.
“President Trump’s efforts are designed to restore power to states and parents and help schools focus on student success and achievement and targeting resources to students who need the most help,” press secretary Peter Finocchio said in a statement. “Governor Youngkin remains laser-focused on ensuring every Virginia student has access to a world-class education.”
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