This week I took 3 days off work to fly to DC to lobby for our public schools with 300+ California school board members and superintendents from every county in our state. 

Our top asks were:

•  for Congress to fulfill its promise from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1975 to pay 40% instead of just 10% of our Special Education costs, (this would give MDUSD an additional $34 million per year)
• to fund Universal School Meals that proved so effective during COVID. It reduces stigma, creates a healthy learning environment for all, and reduces unnecessary bureaucratic paperwork. (the current proposed federal funding cut is predicted to remove 15 schools, 9524 students in MDUSD from eligibility) 
• To co-sponsor the bipartisan bill for Secure Rural Schools 

But this year was different from any advocacy I’ve ever done on the Hill. This year we needed to get up to speed fast on the legal ramifications of concentrated Executive Branch power, and what happens when our President ignores judicial decisions. 

And this year we learned about the massive federal action Trump is asking Congress to take before July 4th to pass his “Big Beautiful Bill”. This was the elephant in the room. It is the reason we’ve seen legislators give record-long speeches and host sit-ins on the Capitol steps: to bring awareness to who will be devastated by this unprecedented slashing of federal programs we depend on for students, seniors, people with disabilities… our most vulnerable neighbors. 

The Budget Resolution instructs the House Energy & Commerce Committee to make at least $880B in reductions through 2034, which mathematically cannot be done without slashing Medicaid. In California Medicaid is distributed as MediCal, covering 3 in 7 children. Schools in California receive over $1 billion for health services provided by schools. In MDUSD this includes valued mental health services as well as crucial complex medical care during school for special needs students. 

When we met with our Congressman DeSaulnier, he had just come from the Education Committee meeting where the Republicans were making devastating cuts to higher education. We thanked him for fighting for our students by authoring and co-sponsoring bills for special education and much more.

This is all so beyond reason for the GOP to slash so many programs that have bipartisan support, cost very little, and clearly save taxpayer dollars through proven preventative actions. 

• The Trump administration just announced a $1 Billion cut in existing grants for school mental health that had been allocated in 2023 by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act enacted in response to the Uvalde school shooting.
• and AmeriCorps was cut, which was previously Thousand Points of Light by President Bush. It provides thousands of volunteers to public schools & communities nationwide. (I was an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer in 1996, and it inspired me to shift my career path from engineering to public service!)

While in DC I also watched this Georgetown Edunomics Lab webinar: Making sense of federal and other financial risks for K12. This was especially timely since we as a school board need to approve our MDUSD budget in June, and last week MDUSD reached impasse in negotiations with our teachers union who have asked for significant financial commitments. 

My biggest takeaways were the high risks we must consider that:

• a recession could trigger a reduction in our state funds, and/or 
• that immigrant fears & deportations could cause attendance & enrollment drops that reduce funding. 

We will need to be careful in MDUSD to maintain reserves, avoid recurring financial commitments, maintain flexibility for different scenarios, and track attendance carefully. 

Despite all these challenges, I remain dedicated to speaking up for our students. Standing at the capitol building still gives me a sense of awe of our democracy. We all must shoulder the grave responsibility of keeping alive this country's vision of equality & justice for all.