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President Trump says he wants Congress to close the Department of Education.
Illinois school districts count on federal funds for 12% of their revenue. The majority of school revenue comes from local taxes and a smaller chunk comes from the state.
And that 12% is actually higher than usual due to pandemic relief funding over the past few years. Pre-COVID, it made up around 7 or 8% of school revenues.
But that percentage can vary a lot, depending on the district. The federal government’s Title I program sends out billions of dollars a year to low-income schools across the country.
Rockford Public Schools, for example, receives 22% of their revenue from the federal government, while a wealthier district like Oak Park-River Forest gets just 3% from the feds.
But the big question is, if the U.S. Department of Education gets axed, does all of this federal money disappear? Not necessarily. Certain programs can be cut, but the Title I program existed before the Department of Education and it would take a separate congressional act to end it.
Would that be a priority for Trump? Well, the conservative policy playbook Project 2025, co-authored by current and former Trump staffers, calls for Title 1 to be wound down and ended.
Federal funding doesn't just come to school districts through Title I either. Schools receive federal grants to help fund lots of initiatives including mental health services and career & technical education programming.
Even if federal funds make up a relatively small percentage of school district revenue, losing it would mean steep cuts at some of the poorest school districts.
