CPS Says Students Will Be 'Unaffected' by Trump Funding Cut for K-12 Schools

As the Trump administration threatens to cut federal funding for school districts across the country, Cambridge Public School leaders assured parents that the district will maintain business as usual.

In late January, Trump issued an executive order directing members of his cabinet to develop a plan which would eliminate federal funding for districts who promote “gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”

While legal experts do not expect the order warrants immediate actions from schools, the order targets curricula which “treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.”

CPS Interim Superintendent David G. Murphy said in a Tuesday School Committee meeting that regardless of changes at the federal level, the district will continue “standing by our principles and our policies.”

“I know all of us have been hearing from people in the community who are understandably concerned,” Murphy said. “While every dollar matters, I will not agree to compromise our principles or our policies for the sake of funding.”

“I’m confident that this city and state would have the financial wherewithal and also the support for our students, for our schools, to make up for any funds if they were to be lost,” he added.

Federal funding was projected to account for 2.7 percent of the CPS budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year, and has consistently accounted for less than 5 percent over the past 5 years. 92 percent of funding comes from the City of Cambridge revenue, most of which is property taxes.

Murphy said the “integrity of the curriculum” will not be threatened as a result of the executive order.

On the district website, the CPS History and Social Studies department curriculum is publicized promoting “a culturally sustaining, equitable, rigorous curriculum.” The website includes that the curriculum is designed to develop various skills, including learning to “apply knowledge of history and the social sciences to take informed, authentic action towards a more equitable world.”

Tuesday’s meeting isn’t the first time that CPS leaders have openly spoken out against orders from the Trump administration. In January, Murphy assured parents that schools would remain a safe space for students, despite increasing fears of raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer.

School Committee member David J. Weinstein reiterated that regardless of changes at the federal level, school will continue as usual for CPS students.

“Cambridge Public School students are going to be unaffected,” he said. “That's a commitment that we’re very fortunate to be in a position to make because of our resources.”

— Staff writer Ayaan Ahmad can be reached at ayaan.ahmad@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @AyaanAhmad2024.

— Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at claire.michal@thecrimson.com.