Wakefield candidate warns cuts to federal education funding would hit special education, Title I and school meals

Thomas Markham, an incumbent member of the Wakefield School Committee and a candidate in the town election, told WCAT that proposals to dismantle or sharply cut the U.S. Department of Education would have serious financial consequences for Wakefield Public Schools.

Markham said federal funding supports three major categories that would be hardest hit locally: special education services, Title I literacy programming and federally supported school meal programs. “The loss of a Title I and literacy funding would be dramatic,” Markham said, adding that services for students with disabilities rely heavily on federal dollars.

Why it matters: Wakefield’s budget — like that of most districts — depends on a mix of local, state and federal funds. An abrupt reduction in federal support would force local officials to cover obligations the district must meet under Massachusetts law, Markham said, and could require changes such as charging for school meals and reducing participation if subsidies were removed.

Markham described the prospect as “very troubling” and said the rhetoric of “just kick it back to the states” understates the role federal dollars currently play in day-to-day services. He warned that the community could face “hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of time, and certainly millions of dollars in the course of even 1 or 2 years” if federal contributions were eliminated.

Markham cited a local example of the uncertainty: a USDA food grant the Wakefield and Stoneham Boys & Girls Club had applied for was canceled, he said. He called on federal institutions — Congress and the courts — to perform their roles to prevent abrupt, destabilizing changes.

Markham also highlighted legal obligations: under Massachusetts law, the district would still be required to provide special education programming, even if federal support fell away, meaning the town would need to identify other revenue or make programmatic changes to meet those obligations.

Ending: Markham framed the issue as one of risk management for the district’s budget and services, urging voters and officials to monitor federal policy proposals and prepare contingencies if funding streams change.