WORCESTER – With President Donald Trump’s administration implementing significant cuts to education and ordering the dismantling of the Department of Education, Mayor Joseph Petty is asking that the Worcester School District make every effort to stay on top of the changing situation and its potential impacts on local schools.
Mayor Petty closed a meeting of the Worcester School Committee on Thursday, March 20, requesting a report that would examine how federal funding cuts could affect education and nutrition in the Worcester School District.
So far, the mayor estimates the current budget has already lost up to $180,000, with the impact on the 2026 spending plan still uncertain. Just hours before the school committee met, Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the Department of Education, prompting Petty to reveal that the district could lose around $50 million in federal funding.
He requested a report to provide more precise figures and help the administration assess any larger potential shortfall.
Petty previously requested a report on the potential financial impact on the municipal side, which found no immediate risk to the city. However, he noted that education is far more vulnerable. The mayor didn’t hide his frustration over the events unfolding in Washington and their potential local impact.
“You spend your time in the community trying to make people feel safe in the City of Worcester,” said Petty, “and this makes me upset that I spent my time with the congressman today, with the congressman the last two weeks going to all the churches going to all the community meetings listening to people and how scared they are and so much fear that they’re living.”
In his first two months since returning to office, Trump has ordered significant cuts to federal education funding and made good on his promise to dismantle the Department of Education by signing an executive order to begin the process of shutting down the agency.
Advocates believe the move will eliminate an ineffective and costly sector in the federal government and return education to the hands of the individual states. The opposition denounces the move as an unconstitutional overreach of power that could severely impact school funding and educational opportunities for low-income families. Many have pointed out that the DOE cannot be fully dissolved without an act of Congress.
With so many uncertainties surrounding Trump’s orders and budget cuts, Petty wants the Worcester Public Schools administration to stay focused on the potential fallout and how to respond. He called the recent developments “heartbreaking” and questioned the logic behind the decisions coming out of Washington. His remarks ultimately shifted from a request for information to a call to action.
“I think that as a community we need to track this,” Petty said. “We need to be on top of it and respond immediately when we get information because we’re all not going to know, there are so many moving parts, and every day it changes. I think if we stay strong as a community, stay strong as an elected body with the administrations on both sides of the house here, I think we’ll get through this. It’ll be some challenging times, but I think we’re all on the same page when it comes to teaching our students and making sure they feel safe in Worcester Public Schools and making sure they’re getting the funding they need.”
Jason Bleau, a seasoned reporter from Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, has over 11 years of news media experience. He has worked as a news anchor for WINY 1350 AM, contributed to Stonebridge Press publications, and covered racing as a Press Box coordinator at Thompson Speedway. Outside journalism, he is a movie enthusiast, freelance film reviewer, banker, and solo musician. He can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
