Local school system responds to federal impacts of DEI funding cuts
Recent cuts by the federal government in DEI programming will directly impact local teachers in Lexington and Thomasville city schools.
On Feb. 17, the U.S. Department of Education announced more than $600 million cuts in federal grants to train and recruit teachers, specifically targeting programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The department said in the announcement these cuts were because these programs were “using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on divisive ideologies”, including “inappropriate and unnecessary topics” such as Critical Race Theory; DEI; social justice activism; anti-racism; and instruction on white privilege and white supremacy.
One of the programs which was lost was a $8 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant through High Point University and Winston Salem State University which helped recruit, develop and retain educators in Lexington and Thomasville city schools, as well as Montgomery and Caswell County Schools.
According to HPU, the grant was targeted for school districts with a high poverty rate and a highteacher turnover rate, and to assist in hiring and retaining a diverse pool of educators. “Program staff were in the process of recruiting teacher and principal candidates into the program, which was to begin in the fall of 2025, when they learned of the grant termination…It was a five-year grant. It’s safe to say it would have prepared dozens of teachers and principals for the area school districts,” said Alex Abrams, High Point University Director of Media Relations.
The grant previously provided funding to the school districts to give a stipend for teacher assistants, teachers and principals to obtain higher professional degrees, such as Master of Education and school administration, as well as other professional development. Representatives with Lexington City Schools said that the loss of this grant funding will impact the school districts, but it won’t translate into anyone losing their jobs. But they did say iit will make it tougher to recruit and retain teachers in the future.
“We recognize the importance of federal dollars in recruiting and training teachers for high-needs school districts, including Lexington City Schools. While the funding has been cut, we remain committed to advocating for fiscal resources our students and staff both need and deserve,” said representatives with Lexington City Schools.
Representatives from Thomasville City Schools did not respond to a request for comment by publication deadline.
