North Carolina’s Rural Districts Hardest Hit by Federal Education Cuts

Proposed federal education cuts will have the greatest impact on North Carolina’s low-wealth areas.

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- North Carolina’s rural counties are facing another blow as a result of the federal education cuts proposed by the Trump administration. The administration is proposing $12 billion in cuts to public education nationwide in the 2026 fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2025. (Federal government fiscal years run from October 1- September 30.)

North Carolina’s portion of the cuts is projected to be approximately $200 million, but the cuts are not distributed evenly across the state’s population. Rural areas, with many of the lowest wealth communities and schools, are going to suffer the largest cuts.

The U.S. House and Senate are still working through major differences in their spending bills; the Senate version maintains current spending levels and excludes the education cuts. (1) The House version makes cuts similar to President Trump’s budget proposal. (2)

The proposed K-12 federal budget may eliminate more than 40 programs that provide services for the most vulnerable K-12 students. For example, a proposed 27% cut to Title 1 (which provides funding to low-wealth schools) would impact services in communities that don’t have the resources to make up the funding gaps.

Other cuts are to programs that pay for teacher training and development, serve English language learners, and fund education research and data collection.

Many cancelled programs are centered on academic excellence and achievement; eliminating them will hinder academic progress across the United States.

In North Carolina, congressional districts representing some of the lowest wealth rural areas in the state are facing cuts that are more than three times that of wealthy urban congressional districts. For example, District 8 (Rep. Mark Harris) could lose more than $22 million while District 2 (Rep. Deborah Ross) stands to lose a fraction of that amount—slightly over $6 million.

District 8 and its neighbor District 7 (Rep. Rouzer) encompasses some of North Carolina’s poorest counties, including Anson, Duplin, Columbus, Harnett, Scotland and Robeson Counties. They will each lose more than $22 million. In contrast, District 2 encompasses only one county, Wake County, which is one of the wealthiest in the state.

Access an interactive map to see all congressional districts and how much they stand to lose.

Rep. Tim Moore’s District 14 could lose more than $18 million. As the former NC House Speaker, Mr. Moore knows well the challenges faced by North Carolina’s public schools. Many in his district are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene and can ill-afford to lose federal funds. The other two districts hit hardest by Hurricane Helene will both lose more than $13 million in federal funds. These federal education cuts come at a very difficult time for the districts still not back to where they were before the hurricane.

Recent news suggests that the House and Senate are still far from agreeing on a federal budget. (3) If the Senate prevails in maintaining current funding levels, school districts in North Carolina’s low wealth counties will have averted major cuts.

1. Senators—Including Republicans—Reject All of Trump’s Proposed Education Cuts: https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/senators-including-republicans-reject-all-of-trumps-proposed-education-cuts/2025/07#:~:text=Key%20U.S.%20senators%20from%20both,2%20min%20read
2. House panel approves 26% cut to Title I funding for FY26: https://www.k12dive.com/news/house-committee-cut-federal-education-Title-I-special-education/759722/
3. Democrats Block GOP Spending Extension as Shutdown Looms: https://www.wral.com/story/house-passes-spending-extension-that-democrats-vow-to-block/22166093/

Heather Koons
Public Schools First NC
info@publicschoolsfirstnc.org
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