‘Take us backwards’: Healey condemns Trump administration’s decision to slash education funding

BOSTON — Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey commended the Trump Administration’s decision to slash early education funding on Tuesday, calling the decision “illegal.”

Governor Healey said in a statement Tuesday that the federal government is terminating $106 million in K-12 education grant funding

She says the state was told they had until March 2026 to spend the 106-million dollars.

It was supposed to go toward student mental health support, tutoring and school security and building upgrades in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healey says that although recent test scores show Massachusetts students continue to lead the nation, Bay State classrooms still haven’t record from the pandemic.

“At a time when students are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, we need to be doing everything we can to address learning loss and the youth mental health crisis. Instead, President Trump suddenly ripped away more than $100 million in funding that is supposed to go right to Massachusetts students and schools,” said Healey. “This action is jeopardizing mental health care and math tutoring for our students, as well as projects that are already underway to enhance school security and ensure that the air in our school buildings is clean. Massachusetts has been making important progress helping students recover from the pandemic, but President Trump is trying to take us backwards.”

Healey says the funding was also supposed to go toward supporting professional development for educators, such as DESE’s Learning Acceleration Network and five Regional Licensure Centers that help emergency teacher license holders get provisional or initial licensure to stay employed in Massachusetts public schools.

“We are not back yet from the pandemic. We know that many students in Massachusetts and across the country are still experiencing pandemic-related learning loss and mental health challenges. The federal government had repeatedly reaffirmed these extensions in acknowledgement of continued supply chain issues, labor shortages and to ensure continuity in learning acceleration efforts. Projects funded by these grants are underway. The Trump Administration’s outrageous and cruel decision, in which we received notice of a new arbitrary deadline, will have real harm to our students and their learning and wellbeing,” added Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.

A full list of impacted school districts can be found below;

Impacted school districts:

• Springfield ($47,357,654)

• New Bedford ($15,603,433)

• Fitchburg ($6,578,468)

• Everett ($4,897,300)

• Revere ($4,613,327)

• Boston ($3,468,659)

• Leominster ($1,868,215)

• Stoughton ($1,512,470)

• Worcester ($1,454,350)

• Chelsea ($1,448,715)