COLORADO — Southern Colorado school districts this week were still trying to determine how large-scale Department of Education (DOE) cuts might impact their operations and funding.
WATCH: How the large-scale Department of Education cuts could affect us here in Colorado
On Tuesday evening, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the DOE is cutting its staff by half in an effort to begin the process of shutting down the federal agency. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to shutter the DOE and bring education back fully under state control.
The DOE cuts are also part of President Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts to reduce the federal workforce and budget.
McMahon’s announcement sent reverberations through the world of education as state and local districts attempted to discern how it might impact them. The DOE largely helped administer grant funding and other projects.
“While we have not yet received direct updates from the US Department of Education about the impact of the reduction in force on services to state agencies, ED’s March 11 press releasesays that it ‘will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,’” said a Colorado Department of Education (CDE) spokesperson on Wednesday.
Similarly, many school districts News5 reached out to for comment said it was too soon to discuss.
“We do not know what the impacts are at this time and will continue to monitor the situation,” said Widefield District 3.
“At this time, we are not commenting on discussions regarding federal funding and programs, as the direction remains unclear, and we want to avoid speculating on uncertainties,” said Colorado Springs District 11.
Cheyenne Mountain District 12 offered no comment.
However, other districts in the area provided more information in their responses:
Academy District 20:
“There is a flurry of activity on the federal and state level in terms of grants, funding, legislation and more. Due to these ongoing developments, Academy District 20 cannot comment on matters that have not yet been finalized, enacted into law, or communicated to us. Our team is committed to monitoring and continuously working to determine how decisions at the state and national level may impact our district. At the end of the day, we are committed to continuing our work on instilling the knowledge, skills, and character our students need to succeed upon graduating from Academy District 20.”
Harrison District 2:
“Harrison School District 2 will not comment on proposed budget cuts as a result of the reduction in force at the Department of Education until there is new legislation to support these moves or direct communication about real funding issues.”
District 49:
“School District 49 is closely following all developments with the U.S. Department of Education. At this time we have no specific information regarding any impact to the title program grants which constitute most of the federal funding received by District 49. Although we rely on federal funds to support students in poverty and to partially fund services for special populations, we are committed to serve all students regardless of any disruption or refocusing of funding. We would welcome a funding system that reduces bureaucratic obstacles and delivers the same level of support with streamlined reporting and verification.”
Pueblo District 70:
"Until there is a plan outlined as to how federal funds will be distributed or what the reorganization is going to look like, it’s difficult to predict how school districts will be impacted. If we continue to receive funding for Title I for low-income families, Title II for professional development, Title III for English Language Learners, IDEA funding for special education, federal funding for nutrition, or Medicaid reimbursements, then we won’t be affected, but if any of these funds are no longer provided, it would greatly affect our students across the district."
Pueblo District 70’s response highlighted what is potentially the largest concern with U.S. DOE cuts and its apparent eventual dismantling. Though state and local funding typically cover the bulk of school district funding, some schools receive significantly higher federal funds than others.
For example, schools with large student populations of lower-income families receive more federal funding through Title I.
According to CDE data, Pueblo D60 gets over $7 million in Title I funding while D70 receives over $1.3 million. In El Paso County, District 11 receives $8.5 million and District 2 receives nearly $4 million.
Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argue that Trump’s efforts to dismantle the US DOE disproportionately hurt poor communities and communities of color.
This week, Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet’s office decried the DOE cuts and made similar arguments as the ACLU.
“Senator Bennet believes that cutting public servants at the Department of Education without cause will only deepen the inequities in our public education system and hurt Colorado’s most vulnerable students,” his office said in a statement to KOAA.
According to a data set provided by Senator Bennet’s office and reviewed by KOAA, at least 10 jobs in Colorado appeared to be lost due to this week’s DOE cuts.
But first-term Republican Congressman Jeff Crank, who represents much of El Paso County, has consistently agreed with President Trump in support of dismantling the DOE, arguing the point many times on the campaign trail last year.
“I have been vocal in my support for eliminating the Department of Education,” said Rep. Jeff Crank. “The federal government should not be in the business of deciding what books are in the library or what the curriculum should be. This power should be up to the states.”
But school districts like Harrison District 2 said the federal government has no say in local curriculum or what books are in the library.
District 2 sent a detailed explanation of the process after a KOAA query this week:
“Each district operates under local control, allowing school district communities to select curriculum resources that support state standards. Some content areas like elementary literacy require selecting a resource off an approved list compiled by the Colorado Department of Education if it will be used for core instruction for students who have a significant reading deficiency.”
“Most districts have a committee approach to adopting new curriculum resources and involve a group to include teachers, principals, administrators, parents and students in selecting a resource that will align with state academic standards. Library books are typically selected by the librarian in conjunction with school staff and they take into account books that support curriculum topics and are of interest to students, as well as recent award-winning books.”
Other concerns with the cuts at the DOE include access to data and research.
Colorado Springs economist Bill Craighead, who heads the UCCS Economic Forum, said this week’s moves could lead to a “potential loss of data” in conducting education research and compiling data, which worried him.
This data could be used in measurements of state-to-state education achievements and other important factors.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat who’s running for governor in 2026, joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general across the country Thursday suing the Trump administration to stop the DOE cuts.
Weiser said Colorado received over $1.2 billion from the federal government in 2024 for school programs. He said the cuts will “hamstring” the processing of financial aid and “gut” the Office of Civil Rights, “which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault.”
The attorneys general lawsuit asserts the Executive Branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally dismantle an executive agency like DOE, which was authorized by Congress.
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