CMS leaders fear cuts for low-income schools amid budget battle in Washington, D.C.

CHARLOTTE — Leaders with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are concerned they could lose funding for low-income schools and teacher training, and it all comes down to decisions being made in Washington, D.C.

In total, the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is about 3% less than 2026. The bill’s proponents say it “returns education back to the states” and “reins in runaway spending on social programs.”

CMS leaders say next school year could look different following the legislation that passed the U.S. House last week.

“I think we were surprised by the severity of the cuts they are proposing,” Charles Jeter with CMS told Channel 9’s Jonathan Lowe.

The appropriations act, which is about $189.3 billion, would cut Title I funding by nine percent. It would completely eliminate Title II, which funds teacher and principal professional development, as well as Title III, which supports English language learners.

“It’s almost like they’re incrementally seeing how far they can go to absolutely undermine public education in this country,” Jeter said.

Jeter estimated the total impact of the cuts on CMS would exceed $13 million.

“And it’s a recurring number,” Jeter said.

“I don’t know that I think it’s a way to ruin education, I just think that it seems targeted on a population,” said Charlotte Craig, whose fifth-grader is moving on to middle school next year.

Though Craig’s specific family doesn’t rely on the fact that Rama Road is a Title I school, she’s concerned about the impact.

“A lot of students depend on the resources, and we don’t live in a vacuum; these are my kids’ friends,” Craig said.

The bill’s supporters say it restores accountability and directs taxpayer dollars toward things like biomedical research, biodefense infrastructure, and rural health.