Rural school districts in Maine’s poorest communities are at risk of losing the most if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to cut the state’s federal funding over its policy allowing transgender student athletes to compete in alignment with their gender identity.
For now, though, administrators of those school districts remain in the dark about the extent of any looming cuts, which the Trump administration has so far provided little detail about.
In the worst case scenario, the termination of federal funding could mean that some programs — especially in the areas of special education, food and rural education — could get cut, according to experts. That could also drive up how much taxpayers must contribute at the local level for their education system.
“Any loss of funding would hurt our students and potentially force districts to choose between cutting programming or asking our local residents to make up the shortfall at a time when many are already feeling the strain of their property tax bills,” said Robbie Feinberg, a spokesperson for the Maine School Management Association. “These cuts would hurt our most vulnerable students and communities.”
According to Feinberg, 10 percent of Maine’s public school funding comes from federal sources. That includes more than $60 million to educate students through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and more than $50 million in Title I funds for disadvantaged students, designed to help educators close achievement gaps and provide a high-quality, equitable education.
The money allows districts to fill “vital, important positions, such as interventionists and literacy and math coaches,” Feinberg said.
Other federal money that comes to Maine schools includes Perkins funds for career and technical education, McKinney-Vento funds for homeless students, and funding for academic achievement programs, rural school districts and support for multilingual students.
While the amount of federal funding that goes to Maine schools varies from year to year, it tends to account for a larger portion of spending in more rural areas of the state, according to data on K-12 public school funding from the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 2022, some districts in more rural areas such as Washington and Aroostook counties received between 15 and 30 percent of their funds from the federal government, while many communities along the coast received less than 10 percent.
Many of those more rural communities also voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
For now, many of those districts are waiting to learn more from the state about what Trump’s threats mean.
“I do not have any specific information at this time,” said Jon Porter, superintendent and Southern Aroostook Community Middle High School principal. “The Maine Department of Education is working to get clarity on what, if any, effects this would have upon K-12 federal programs. I’m hoping there are more answers soon.”
No matter what year it is, school boards and superintendents have to make difficult decisions on what makes the final budget and what doesn’t, said Hodgdon School District Superintendent Tyler Putnam on Monday.
“If we lose funding from anywhere [grants, state, federal] you always run the risk of cutting positions, unfortunately,” Putnam said. “We would need to review the budget and see where we are bound by law to offer specific services and ensure the local budget picks up the cost. However, there may be areas that we would cut out of the budget altogether if needed.”
The Hodgdon School District currently receives 6 percent of its current, $7.25 million fiscal year budget from the federal government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it received nearly 19 percent with the inclusion of pandemic relief dollars, Putnam said. He added that the school board has worked hard to keep all programs and staff that directly impact students.
“We will continue to look for grants that we may qualify for to help offset costs to our local communities,” Putnam said. “This is something most small, rural schools need to dedicate a good chunk of their time on, because of rising educational costs.”
Any school that receives federal funding would see an impact if it was changed, said Houlton School Superintendent Joe Fagnant.
According to Fagnant, the district’s fiscal year 2025 budget has approximately $2.6 million of federal funding, or 13.14 percent.
“Before anything changes in our budget structure, the State of Maine would have to give schools more information on what they are going to do about the loss of federal funds,” he said.
All Maine School Superintendents are concerned about the possibility of losing Federal Funds, said Scott Porter, superintendent of AOS 96 also known as the Machias Bay Area School System.
The Alternative Organizational Structure 96 consists of the towns of Cutler, East Machias, Jonesboro, Machias, Machiasport, Marshfield, Northfield, Roque Bluffs, Wesley, Whiting, Whitneyville. Collectively, the towns receive approximately $1.8 million in Federal Funds annually, he said.
“The AOS 96 schools do not have an alternative funding source,” Porter said. “It would mean cutting programs, which unfortunately would mean cutting staff positions. Hopefully this situation will be resolved soon.”
Despite the uncertainty right now, Hodgdon’s superintendent, Putnam, said that the community is resilient.
“I am confident that we will continue to work with the state and federal government to give our students the best educational opportunities,” he said. “I feel grateful that our board has made an effort to keep as many staff that work directly with students as possible during the last three budgets that I have been a part of at MSAD 70.”
