Trump Administration Withholding $44M in Education Funding from New Mexico

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

One of New Mexico’s representatives in Congress says the Trump administration’s refusal to release education funding is harming both children and adult students, especially those who are falling behind in reading and mathematics.

All three of New Mexico’s representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 10 joined approximately 145 other federal lawmakers in a letter asking the Trump administration to immediately lift a freeze on $7 billion meant for student learning and achievement; after-school programs; teacher training; and adult education and literacy.

“There is no legitimate reason why any review of these programs should prevent the Administration from fulfilling its responsibility to the American people on time,” they wrote. “No more excuses — follow the law and release the funding meant for our schools, teachers and families.”

Vasquez told Source NM the administration is withholding $44 million from K-12 schools and adult education programs in New Mexico.

That includes $21.6 million in his congressional district; $12 million for Albuquerque Public Schools; and approximately $3 million Las Cruces Public Schools, he said.

“I was an English learner in the public schools system in this country, and I got to where I was because these programs existed,” Vasquez said in an interview. “We are selling our kids short by eliminating these programs, and most importantly all of those kids who are falling behind in math and reading.”

He said school administrators are digging into their budget reserves in an attempt to find solutions. Withholding the money could result in dropped programs, hiring freezes and the loss of essential student supports, Stateline reports.

“What I got from the Las Cruces superintendent was, if they want to continue these programs, which are extremely valuable to the community, to the families and students alike, that they’re going to essentially have to figure out where to make cuts elsewhere within the total budget,” Vasquez said in an interview. “So they’re in a rough place right now.”

Melanie Blea, executive director of federal and state programs at Albuquerque Public Schools,  told Source that while district leaders have been planning various scenarios for funding cuts, the timing of the administration’s funding freeze is a challenge given school starts in one month. The district started planning its budget in December; received approval from their school board in March and April; and received approval from the state in June, she said.

“We’re doing everything possible to make sure that schools are safe from these cuts, that they don’t necessarily feel them,” Blea said. “We’re trying to fill holes. We’re trying to cover as much as we possibly can with other funds.”

The funding freeze affects continuing education for teachers at all 143 APS schools, Blea said, and ancillary staff like nurses and counselors.

“We probably can’t do this for much longer, as far as insulating schools,” she added.

Martin Salazar, communications director for APS, told Source NM that the district is committed to keeping all of its 55 staff who are paid out of the frozen funds employed for the rest of the school year.

“If this goes on, and it’s the same situation next school year or the following school year, that’s going to pose a problem for us,” he said.

A voicemail for a spokesperson at Las Cruces Public Schools was not returned as of Monday morning.

The Trump administration told state governments it would hold back the funds on June 30, to ensure that public money is “spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.”

The lawmakers’ letter is addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought

New Mexico and 15 other states this month sued McMahon’s agency over its decision in April to also freeze $1 billion in grant funding, including school-based mental health programs.

A spokesperson for Vought’s office told the Rhode Island Current that federal school funds were withheld after officials found some districts across the country had allegedly misused the money “to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda,” including English language instruction for immigrant students, scholarships for undocumented students and a seminar about “queer resistance in the arts.”

Vasquez told Source that Trump and other Republicans have been saying their goal in withholding the funding has been to “end free education to undocumented children,” which Vasquez called xenophobic and “a blatant lie” after reviewing the Las Cruces Public Schools budget with Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz.

“These funding cuts are going to have impacts that will be felt by everybody, by all the students,” Vasquez said. “Squeezing every dollar from programs that benefit the public good to pay for these tax cuts for the rich is the real reason this administration is doing this.”

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: [email protected].

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter