'I resent it': Teacher exodus hits 'Trump stronghold' due to federal budget cuts [View all]

Source: Raw Story

August 23, 2025 3:16PM ET


A county in North Carolina where nearly 70% of voters favored President Donald Trump in 2024 is facing an exodus of educators following budget cuts to the Department of Education, cuts that have left some residents feeling betrayed.

During Trump’s second term, the Education Department has seen its workforce nearly cut in half, around $900 million worth of research contracts canceled, and around $600 million gutted from teacher-training grants, and all in the name of eliminating “wasteful spending” at the agency, which Trump called a “con job.”

And for some Montgomery County educators, the cuts have not only driven them to different jobs, but to resentment. “I resent being considered government waste,” said Katie Kimrey, who’s led a 20-year career as an educator, speaking with The Washington Post. “If my kids were grown, shoot, I’d probably be gone, too.”

Kimrey had previously received a $1,500 bonus for her service to Montgomery County schools, a bonus that was to be no more after Trump’s slashing of teacher-training grants.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/doge-education-department-contract-cuts/