GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Demonstrations were held outside schools across the nation in protest of the Trump Administration's move to cut costs and eliminate what they say is bias in the education system.
That includes some schools in West Michigan.
This protest was organized by the National Education Association and in Michigan is being spearheaded by the teacher and educational professionals' union, Michigan Education Association.
Groups gathered outside of several schools Wednesday morning across Michigan to deliver a short presentation about their opposition to the proposed Department of Education cuts by the Trump Administration.
This isn't a complete list of where protests are happening this morning — but here's where we've learned so far.
- Union High School, Grand Rapids
- Buchanan Elementary School, Grand Rapids
- North Shore Elementary School, South Haven
- South Haven High School, South Haven
- Baseline Middle School, South Haven
- Maple Grove Elementary School, South Haven
- Lincoln Elementary School, South Haven
The Michigan Education Association told us the gathering were in support of public education.
"Our whole goal here is a couple things, one is to bring awareness," said Michigan Education Association Chief of Staff Blake Mazurek. "A lot of folks may not understand exactly how much...you mentioned about federal funding as part of overall funding. But here in (Grand Rapids Public Schools) they recieve over $10 million dollars of federal funds that support programming for title 1 and special ed for example... and that is a substantial part of the school budget. So those impacts are really real."
Here are some of the recent moves from the Trump Administration, long promised by the president:
President Trump has repeatedly said he wants the agency shut down, calling it wasteful and biased.
Critics worry the department will no longer be able to carry out some essential functions.
For context, when President Donald Trump took office, there were roughly 4,100 people in the department. Around 1,300 layoffs were announced last week.
Federal funding accounts for a relatively small portion of public school funding, coming to about 14%.
The administration is also calling for the end of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programsat schools and universities, saying those that do not repeal the policies will risk losing federal funding.
The Department of Education faces a lawsuit after layoffs.
The demonstrations on Wednesday ended with educators walking into the building to start the school day. The protests were not meant to impact classes.
Watch our full interview with the Michigan Education Association's Chief of Staff outside Grand Rapids Union High School below.
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