‘We will not let you harm our children’: Illinois educators react to dismantling of Department of Education

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Governor JB Pritzker spoke to dozens of Illinois educators Thursday morning in Rosemont for the kick-off of a three-day conference.

The Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly (IEA RA) comes just days after President Donald Trump cut half of the Department of Education’s workforce.

This year’s conference comes with great importance as Illinois educators are concerned about the future of their students.

Federal funding helps pay for students’ school breakfast and lunch. Teachers say it’s not just about feeding their brains, but their bellies too.

“On the weekends, we send boxes of food home for some of our students. With funding cuts, they may not get that to support them until Monday,” said Jill Scarcelli, Troy School District.

“With the dismantling of the US Department of Education, our educators throughout this state are saying no. We will not let you harm our children. We will not let you take financial aid away from our students,” said Becky Pringle, National Education Association.

Gov. Pritzker addressed educators at the Hyatt Regency in Rosement at the height of Trump’s cuts.

“Your’re talking about billions of dollars that they are trying to take away. In the case of Illinois that will be about three and a half billion dollars that they would take away. That is not something the state of Illinois can replace,” Pritzker said.

The Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly meets every year to discuss the budget, resolutions, and other policies of the association.

While there is the idea of pressing forward, there is worry amongst the crowd.

Just about 10% of public school funding in Illinois comes from the federal government. The Department of Education is terminating leases on buildings in major cities, including Chicago.

Educators argue that students in low-income communities and those with disabilites in Chicago, will feel the hardest kick.

Chicago has 230,000 low-income students, with 60,000 students having disabilities.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand exactly what that funding covers. So when a student maybe has verbal difficulties and they need a specific device to communicate, the funding we get at school districts for those specific devices comes from the federal government,” said Allison Rohrbach, Barrington School Teacher.

“Our attorney general literally has joined the suit this morning with 20 other states to fight what they are attempting to do at the Department of Education. So we are winning in the courts,” Pritzer said.

While 1,300 jobs have been cut from the Deparment of Education, officials say the agency will continue to deliver on key duties — which includes handing out federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of pell grants.