Donald Trump Threatens To Defund Schools That Don’t Open In The Fall

Donald Trump is threatening schools, open or else he “may cut off funding.”

It should be noted that Denmark, Norway and Sweden had 300 coronavirus cases yesterday.  The U.S. had 60,000. The Trump administration’s response to COVID-19 has been so disastrous that Americans can’t even travel to Denmark, Norway or Sweden.

And the mixed messaging was again on full display at a White House coronavirus task force briefing.  The administration trotted out several officials to push the reopening of schools. Vice President Mike Pence said, “It’s absolutely essential that we get our kids back into classrooms for in-person learning.” Education Secretary Betsy Devos proclaimed, “Ultimately, it’s not a matter of if schools should reopen. Simply a matter of how. They must fully open and they must be fully operational. And how that happens is best left to education and community leaders.”

But then, Dr. Deborah Birx warned against indoor gatherings of any kind (schools?) as cases rise in many states.

Then there was Trump’s dismissal of the CDC guidelines to reopen schools.

During the briefing, the CDC director then downplayed his agency’s owns recommendations.

Now, we’re told the CDC will have “revised guidelines” next week.  As for that threat that Trump will take money away from schools, here’s what the Vice President said.

NPR points out:

On average, public schools receive less than 10% of their funding from the U.S. government, and that money is largely devoted to helping schools serve low-income students and children with disabilities. In short, the nation’s most vulnerable students.

For decades, that funding stream has flowed through Congress with bipartisan support, and Trump has no authority to cut it off or add new requirements to funding lawmakers have already allocated.

*This post contains opinion and analysis