The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education is concerned about a federal budget proposal that some fear might impact Medicaid. In a letter to local officials, some board members said those cuts could impact services for children with special needs and school lunch programs.
The GOP-controlled U.S. House’s proposed budget resolution, which is set to be considered in Washington this week, has sparked concern about potential cuts to Medicaid. The proposal calls for the committee that oversees Medicaid and other programs to identify nearly $900 billion in cuts.
CMS Board Chair Stephanie Sneed and member Summer Nunn said in a letter to local lawmakers that cuts to Medicaid would hurt services for students with disabilities. You can read the letter here.
The letter was addressed to U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat, and U.S. Reps. Tim Moore and Mark Harris, Republicans. Sneed and Nunn wrote Medicaid cuts could impact more than 17,000 students in the district and upwards of $16 million in funding that provides services for students with disabilities.
Sneed said those services are crucial, and required by law.
“In a tight budget cycle that we’re in now, we would have to move monies around in order to make sure that we are able to provide those supports for those students and, you know, as I sit here today, I don’t know where that particular money would come from," Sneed said. "But obviously we would have to make some tough decisions."
Sneed said that making sure students have the proper supports — from having specific educational needs addressed to proper nutrition — is crucial to student learning.
The letter also argued against reported proposals to change the free school lunch program that serves low-income students, which the board members say would result in more than 40,000 students in 100 schools being removed from the program entirely.
Some reports have suggested lawmakers have considered limiting who qualifies for the Community Eligibility Program, which provides free lunch and breakfast to schools based on need.
In separate statements to WFAE, Republican Reps. Tim Moore and Mark Harris, who were addressed in the letter, both said the budget resolution doesn’t outline any specific cuts to Medicaid or school nutrition programs. They argued the resolution just sets targets to reduce wasteful spending.
“While I appreciate the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education’s advocacy for their students, it is important to set the record straight: no specific programmatic cuts to Medicaid or school nutrition programs are mandated as part of the House Budget Resolution — that is a fact," Moore said. "This resolution sets responsible spending targets to rein in wasteful spending and put our country on a sustainable fiscal path, but it does not eliminate or defund the critical programs that support students.”
Harris echoed those claims and said the board's letter "is not based in reality."
"The resolution directs committees to reform programs and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse of our government that spends $2 trillion more than it takes in annually," Harris said. "Congress must work with the President to put us back on a path to fiscal sanity so our country is in a better position to support students and everyday Americans over the long term.”
The war of words likely presages the pitched budget battle taking shape on Capitol Hill. Adams, a Democrat, said proposed cuts to Medicaid or other federal education funds, like Title I, are "unacceptable."
"It is disheartening to hear that Republicans are trying to punish poor and working class people by taking away these government programs in order to give tax breaks to billionaires and giant corporations," Adams said.
