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  • Trump Slashes Staff at Voice of America

    Trump Slashes Staff at Voice of America


    Voice of America is known worldwide for its straightforward, unbiased presentation of world news. Trump placed MAGA enthusiast Keri Lake in charge. At his behest, she just laid off most of the VOA staff. Remember when America was great? We thought we had a message for the world and that the truth would set us free.

    But Trump doesn’t want to “Make America great Again.” He wants to make America a land of bitter divisions, where the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer and sicker, unable to get health insurance, medical care, good schools, or any opportunity to rise into the middle class. For that, you need unions and good jobs.

    The New York Times just reported:

    The Trump administration sent layoff notices on Friday to more than 600 employees at Voice of America, a federally funded news organization that provides independent reporting to countries with limited press freedom.

    The layoffs, known as reductions in force, will shrink the staff count at the news organization to less than 200, around one-seventh of its head count at the beginning of 2025. They put Voice of America journalists and support staff on paid leave until they are let go on Sept. 1.

    The termination notices are the latest round of the Trump administration’s attack on federally funded news networks, including Voice of America.

    In March, President Trump accused the news group of spreading “anti-American” and partisan “propaganda,” calling it “the voice of radical America.” He then signed an executive order that effectively called for dismantling of the news agency and put nearly all Voice of America reporters on paid leave, ceasing its news operations for the first time since its founding in 1942.

    Kari Lake, a fierce Trump ally and a senior adviser at the news organization’s oversight agency, U.S. Agency for Global Media, notified Congress earlier this month that her agency intended to eliminate most positions at Voice of America. Her letter identified fewer than 20 employees who must remain at the media organization, according to laws passed by Congress to establish and fund it. Friday’s termination notices leave around 200 employees.

    Ms. Lake’s decision “spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds U.S. ideals of democracy and freedom around the world,” Patsy Widakuswara, a former Voice of America White House bureau chief who was placed on leave and is leading a lawsuit against Ms. Lake and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said in a statement.

    She encouraged Congress to intervene and to signal support for Voice of America, which was founded to combat Nazi propaganda and reported in countries that suppress independent reporting and free speech.

    “Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and extremist groups are flooding the global information space with anti-America propaganda,” Ms. Widakuswara said. “Do not cede this ground by silencing America’s voice.”



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  • NEA: Trump Slashes Education Budget, Encourages Privatization of Public Schools

    NEA: Trump Slashes Education Budget, Encourages Privatization of Public Schools


    The National Education Association analyzed Trump ‘s proposed budget and finds that it contains deep cuts and massive support for privatization by promoting vouchers and charter schools. The proposal mirrors Project 2025 by turning Titl 1 for low-income students and IDEA funding into block grants that can be converted to vouchers. The overall goal is to undermine public schools and cut funding.

    FY2026 Budget Request Slashes Education Funding, Shortchanges Students

    …………………………………………………………………….……….

    President Trump’s FY2026 “skinny” budget request to Congress, released on May 2, cuts non-defense domestic spending by 22.6%.  The Department of Education sustains a $12 billion reduction, a cut of approximately 15.3%. 

    ! Since the President’s budget does not list specific funding requests for every federal program, the 46-page document is a “skinny” budget. Congress ultimately has the power of the purse, but the proposal is a clear signal of the White House’s priorities: a massive 24 percent cut to U.S. domestic spending, and, privitazing our nation’s public education system.  

     

     The narrative says the budget “maintains full funding for Title I,” but the numbers tell a different story. Title I and 18 unidentified programs are combined to create a single block grant, dubbed the “K-12 Simplified Funding Program,” then that block fund is cut by $4.535 billion cut.

     

     All seven Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs are combined to create a single block grant called the “Special Education Simplified Funding Program.” The approach perpetuates the current shortfall—the federal government now covers 13% of special education costs, far short of the 40% Congress promised when the law was passed. 

     

     Programs slated for elimination include English Language Acquisition (Title III) and the Teacher Quality Partnership, which addresses the teacher shortage through deep clinical practice. 

     

     The budget shifts costs to states and institutions of higher education to reduce the federal investment in today’s students—our nation’s future leaders and workforce—as much as possible.  

     

     Regrouping specific, separate programs into block grants, in theory gives states more flexibility on how the money is spent. In reality, block grants usually lead to less funding and less accountability for our most vulnerable students. As the strings attached to the funding are cut, many states could maneuver block grant funds over to private school voucher programs. 

     

     Amidst these cuts, the proposal calls for investing $500 million, an increase of $60 million, to expand the number of charter schools across the country. Charter schools, along with private school vouchers, drain scarce resources for traditional public schools. 

     

    May 2025



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  • West Contra Costa school board slashes staffing to avoid deficit

    West Contra Costa school board slashes staffing to avoid deficit


    A special education class at West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond.

    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    West Contra Costa Unified School District’s school board approved a plan Wednesday night that will cut educator and administrative positions, and reduce funds for programs and supplies in order to stay fiscally solvent and avoid a state takeover. 

    District officials have been grappling with how to cut $32.7 million in costs between 2024 and 2027; cuts for the current school year total $19.7 million.

    Cuts for the rest of the deficit, $13 million, will be spread out over the next two school years: $7 million in 2025-26 and $6 million in 2026-27. District officials warned it’s likely more reductions will occur after 2027.

    Board members Leslie Reckler, Cinthia Hernandez and Guadalupe Enllana voted for the plan. Reckler, board president, said she voted for the solvency plan to “literally save the district.”

    “No one wants to do this; no one runs for office to do this; no one works here to do this,” Reckler said. “This is an absolute necessity. We are staring down a dire fiscal situation.”

    Trustee Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy was absent while trustee Jamela Smith-Folds abstained from voting. 

    “I want us to start coming together, and I think the way to say that is to abstain,” Smith-Folds said. “This is part of the board’s job that is the hardest because these numbers (budget cuts) are attached to people.”

    According to district officials, declining enrollment, expiration of Covid-19 relief funds, increased costs for special education programs, and underfunded mandates from state and federal governments are reasons West Contra Costa is strapped for cash. Districts across the state have been dealing with the same issues, including San Francisco and Oakland.

    It’s not the first time West Contra Costa has faced challenging budget deficits. In 1991, the district became the first in the state to go insolvent and received a $29 million bailout loan, which took 21 years to pay off. 

    District officials presented a detailed list of staffing cuts — including teachers, social workers, speech therapists, assistant principals, and administrators — spanning from the 2025 school year through 2027.  Over the next two school years, about 1.6% of staff in the teachers’ union will be let go for a total savings of about $3.7 million. 

    Cuts to educator positions are also coming during a time when West Contra Costa schools are struggling to fill vacant positions. Dozens of educators have, at various board meetings, expressed the hardships of not having fully staffed schools. Francisco Ortiz, president of United Teachers of Richmond, said last month that most schools have to use substitutes on a daily basis.

    The majority of school budgets are used to pay staff salaries and benefits, district officials said. In West Contra Costa, that amounts to nearly 84%. This is the reason it wasn’t possible to avoid cutting staffing positions, district officials say. 

    Recent salary increases have also affected spending, district officials said. Salaries have increased 19.5% over the past five years, and benefits have increased by about 26%.

    For the next school year, about $100,000 will be cut from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program; the high school theater budget will be reduced by $20,000, and art supplies by $14,000.

    District officials said they are exploring other ways to save money that don’t impact the classroom, including increasing annual daily attendance, which is how the district receives revenue. For every 1% increase in attendance, the district would generate $2.75 million in additional state funding.





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