A (3:49)

And then how does this county lean politically?

B (3:53)

So the county is majority Republican. 69% of the electorate last election voted for President Trump. And that makes sense. He was pitching an aggrieved and, you know, forgotten populace. And a lot of people in Montgomery county can relate to that. I spoke to one parent, actually, Kim Weasling, and she kind of illuminated how there's, it's a bit of a complex that they feel forgotten and indeed that no one knows that they're there.

A (4:23)

There could be a tornado coming through. And we get excited if we see Montgomery county, you know, on the radar. It's like, oh my gosh, they do know that we exist. Oh my gosh, they do know that we're in danger. Right now.

B (4:34)

This is a boom bus town that has seen better days. The median household income per capita is $30,000. There aren't as many high paying jobs as they would want in the county. And there's not a lot to do. There's no bowling alleys, there's no movie theaters, and the only time people come to town is when they're there to hike or enjoy the national forest.

A (5:02)

Yeah, I want to learn a little bit more about the teachers here and the school system since I know you, you visited and you really wanted to understand how federal policy in Washington trickles down to communities across the country. And in this case, we're talking about teachers in school. So what's it like being a teacher there or even trying to find teachers to be in the schools?

B (5:23)

It is not easy to find teachers in Montgomery County, North Carolina, because they pay so much less than even their neighboring counties. They have a smaller tax base and that's because they have this national forest that takes up 15% of their land. So that affects how they are able to have a commercial inflow. Of taxes. And so there's just less money rolling around as compared to their neighboring counties. So with that, that means less money going to the teachers one county over. They could be making $4,000 more. And that is meaningful because the base pay for a starting teacher in North Carolina is $41,000. So for some people, that is a significant difference.

A (6:02)

So if teacher pay is particularly low in Montgomery county, is there a teacher shortage there?

B (6:07)

Yeah, no, there's definitely a teacher shortage. They have trouble retaining teachers for, you know, all the reasons we just talked about. There's not a lot to do and they don't get paid a lot. And they started this school year with 10 fewer teachers. Now there's people in the community who aren't certified teachers who've stepped up to teach the extracurriculars part time, you know, like art and music. But that's not really a solution to their systemic problem of extreme issues, recruiting and retaining full time employees. But they had the solution, which was grant money, which was helping them hold onto people. And they had that until February.

A (6:44)

So let's talk about this grant money, which we mentioned earlier on. The education department cut $600 million worth of grants, and that went to counties and school districts and other agencies all over the United States. This includes the $21 million that this district in Montgomery County, North Carolina lost. What exactly did this, that particular grant do?

B (7:06)

So the $21 million that they lost was the teacher and school leader Incentive program, or the TSL program, which is supposed to fund initiatives that help lower performing schools, bridge that gap between the higher performing schools and incentivize teachers to do better. And just for scale here, that $21 million is equivalent to about half of the county's annual operating budget. So that is a pretty meaningful loss for them. And every county arranged their grant differently. But the way it worked in Montgomery county is the $21 million would be dispersed over three years for recruiting, retaining, and training teachers. And one of the big things that the money did in Montgomery county is these, these merit based bonuses where if student scores increased, then you earned a certain amount. If your school did well as a whole, you got extra, and if you did well individually, you got extra. And this merit based bonus money really incentivized people to stay in their jobs in the county because otherwise they would just go to the next county over and make a lot more.

A (8:07)

What did the federal government say about why they cut this funding?

B (8:11)

Right. So the education department put out a press release just after Valentine's Day this year where they announced $600 million in cuts to teacher training grants. Included in that was the $21 million of grant money that Montgomery county got. And they said the cuts were because these school districts, quote, were using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on divisive ideologies. And in that, they specifically called out DEI practices. They said that, you know, there was professional development workshops about, quote, building cultural competence or dismantling racial bias or centering equity in the classroom. And they felt that that was an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.

A (8:49)

Was that going on in the Montgomery County School District?

B (8:53)

So, based on my reporting, no. There was no specific DEI programs in place in Montgomery county schools. But when you ask people, why do you think your district was called out as having DEI practices in place? They have a theory. And that theory is that they applied for this grant in 2023, and that was during the Biden administration. And there was a box on the application that said, hey, are you going to, you know, make sure you recruit a diverse workforce that mirrors your student population? And they were like, yeah, sure, who wouldn't want to do that? That sounds cool. There's actually a lot of research shows that's a really good idea for student outcomes. So they check that box. Here's former superintendent Wade Allman again. So you want to maximize your points. Now, is it possible to win said grant without the DEI comments?

A (9:41)

I don't know.

B (9:42)

So then Trump came into office in 2025, and with him, Elon Musk came to town. Musk started implementing cuts throughout the so called Department of Government Efficiency doge and really targeted certain programs, including ones focused on diversity. So, for example, let's say you did a keyword search of the word diverse, right? A lot of applications would come up, including Montgomery County's, because when they applied for the grant, they had an incentive to mention diversity, and now they feel like they're being punished for that. So through my reporting, it became really clear that what happened in Montgomery county is part of a larger pattern within the Trump administration. The administration has targeted DEI throughout the federal government, saying it's a waste of taxpayer money. And that has meant very large cuts to a lot of agencies for programs that don't on the surface actually seem related to DEI at all.

A (10:35)

Is there any, like, legal pushback to the government cutting this program?

B (10:40)

There are these two lawsuits that were put forward to challenge these cuts. And indeed, judges paused the cuts in a number of states and programs, but North Carolina fell in the middle part that was not covered. So the cuts were allowed to go through here and in many other states. Now, there was a process to appeal. And indeed, Montgomery County, North Carolina, did appeal and their appeal was denied.

A (11:13)

After the break, how Montgomery county educators feel about these cuts and what this will mean for their students. We'll be right back. Ben, as you were going around and talking with teachers in Montgomery county, what did they tell you about how they use this money?

B (11:43)

In addition to using the money to buy stuff for the classroom, teachers in Montgomery county used it for all sorts of things. And frankly, it's stuff that I think a lot of us might take for granted. Like for instance, I spoke with band director Ravon Shepard at the high school and he said that this money would allow him time with his newborn daughter so he didn't have to take a second job.

A (12:04)

And losing that money means having to plan entirely differently on how we're going.

B (12:09)

To move forward with our lives.

A (12:11)

Like, I've got a vacation planned, but I'm going to have to pull back.

B (12:15)

A little bit on that vacation and.

A (12:17)

Not do as much because I've got.

B (12:19)

To have some money saved to cover.

A (12:21)

The bills when I get back.

B (12:25)

I may have to pick up a.

A (12:27)

Small gig doing washing dishes somewhere.

B (12:29)

I don't know.

A (12:30)

So what it sounds like to me, just so I understand this funding cut, does that mean teachers are getting a pay cut? Is that what that means?

B (12:37)

So they are getting less money than they thought they would get. Doesn't affect their base salary, but you know, they were planning their lives around three years of extra money. And it's teachers, it's assistant principals and it's principals. I talked to one principal. He makes about $80,000 a year. His bonus was $8,000. So it was a 10% pre tax bonus.

A (12:59)

Yeah. That he was counting on.

B (13:00)

Right. And he drives three hours total.

A (13:04)

Oh, wow.

B (13:05)

Every day to the middle school. He's put three set of tires on his car in like two and a half years.

A (13:10)

Those ain't cheap.

B (13:11)

No, they aren't. They are not.

A (13:14)

So, Ben, the point of this money was to retain and recruit teachers in Montgomery County. And the people you spoke to in the school district said they really relied on this money or were expecting it to come. Now that it's gone, what did they tell you about how they felt?

B (13:30)

These folks are upset that they lost the money and it is on a financial level, but it is to them a moral injury that they feel wronged and passed over again by this lack of acknowledgment, by this taking away of the acknowledgment and that hurts. Do you know that one person in the community, everyone's like, oh, you got to talk to this person if you want to know about this. Yeah, that was Katie Kimry.

A (13:58)

Okay, Ms. Katie Kimry.

B (13:59)

Ms. Katie Kimry. She was so giving with her thoughts and her passion. She's a lifelong teacher. Her mother was a teacher. She's a native of Montgomery county, and she loves what she does.

A (14:12)

And I know I sound like cornbread, and I teach English, but I don't always use proper English.

B (14:16)

And she was peeved when this money was cut.

A (14:19)

I resent being considered government waste. I resent it, you know, especially so, for the first time in 20 years, I get rewarded for being good at my job. And I'm not gonna apologize for being upset about that. I mean, it's pretty powerful. Like, this is a teacher who comes from a line of teachers, is from the community, dedicated her life to it. I mean, I just hear it in her voice. Like, how dare you think of me as government waste? Like, it reminds me almost of what we heard from earlier, of people feeling forgotten. Is that what you hear, too?

B (15:02)

It's a through line for sure that they feel wronged by this. And a lot of them, for those who voted for the president, felt betrayed because they said, hey, man, I thought you were gonna look out for rural America. I thought you were, you know, that's why we all voted for you. There are two people I talked to, Kim and James Simpson. They are two qualified and experienced teachers who both voted for President Trump during the last election. And they said that they were excited to do so because he was supporting policies that, you know, acknowledge their hard work in this rural part of the country, including merit based pay for teachers. Well, you know, one of the things he talked about was merit based pay for teachers. Right. A meritocracy.

A (15:44)

Right. And we work hard, we do a good job. That was exciting. I was glad to make more money than the person who literally doesn't have anything education, walks in, is given a classroom.

B (15:55)

Yeah. So this has been a kick in the head.

A (15:57)

What does he mean about this has been a kick in the head?

B (16:00)

You know, they stayed on Saturdays to work with students. They put in extra time and effort to get this bonus. If you were told that there was thousands of dollars coming to you, if you worked harder, if, you know, you put in extra work, and that's the point of incentivization. And they also care about the students and they want to help them, but they were relying on that extra money that they'd been promised. And so when they lost this, it was like all that effort was for nothing. And then there again they were left with not just nothing, but less than in their minds what they had before. Because it's much easier to not offer someone than to offer them something and then take it away.

A (16:35)

We've been talking a lot about the teachers and the school system, but really what we're also talking about here are the students. Like these are the children who benefit from having good teachers and a good school system. So what does all of this mean for the future of students in Montgomery County, North Carolina?

B (16:56)

So already half the schools in the county are considered low performing and then they lose these grant dollars. So what that has meant now is that there are larger class sizes because there are fewer resources. And there are also fewer after school programs throughout the county. Some parents said they feel guilty that they're not giving their child a quality education. And that's tough. They wanted to have their family there because they wanted a small town life. And someone who can really relate to that is Sarah Talbert, who's a really high quality teacher and she's also a native of Montgomery County. She teaches science. And her words really struck me, her talking about what this means for the community writ large, but also the students in specific.

A (17:40)

Probably the biggest thing is hope. Our students look around and see that there's no hope to make money, there's no hope to, to make a living. And so it affects their overall outlook at their future and they feel like they have to leave us to make a living.

B (17:58)

I know it might sound silly. We're talking about like a few thousand dollars every year into teachers pockets. And so, you know, why are you drawing this line about hopelessness in a community? It's been happening for a century in Montgomery County, North Carolina. These, these lack of opportunities, the rug being pulled out from underneath them, and they are left with less and less over time. And if you don't get good teachers, then you don't get as highly educated as students. And she talked about the brain drain, you know, like the, the best of us leave.

A (18:31)

I mean that's really moving what Sarah is saying. And at the same time I wonder, is it a bit of a stretch to think that, you know, removing this amount of money, like a couple thousand dollars per teacher is enough to kind of perpetuate this feeling of hopelessness among students that they grew up and there's nothing to do here and they gotta go. Because aren't there like many factors at play here? It's not just the quality of teachers in a school. It's like a lot of different things. That even if the school system had teachers who were sticking around longer, like, does that automatically mean, like, the local economy is gonna get better overnight? And that would be enough to keep people in the community?

B (19:11)

And I asked them this exact thing. I was like, you know, please help me scale what this actually means for the community, for the teachers in specific. Without support of their community, without support from their government, state and federal, they feel like they're on an island and they're depending upon these children for the future of their beloved community. And you say, okay, why don't you move? Why don't you go to another school district? Call the bluff. The cold economist would say, well, then anyone would just move out of town. And I asked all of them that. And this is their life. This is the community that they want to help. There's one teacher I spoke with, Jessica Hamilton, who is a special education teacher in elementary school. The TSL grant money was just enough to make it financially doable for her, and yet she's still going to stay a teacher. So then that would again lead any economist to say, oh, well, you don't actually need the money. Then the answer is, she's in. She loves it. She is not happy about it, but she's a. It is what it is person.

A (20:14)

I have invested about 20 years of my life into, you know, Montgomery county in civic clubs and boards and, you know, different. Different things like that.

B (20:32)

And I really, really wanted to stay in Montgomery County.

A (20:37)

It's a great place. After having sort of done the work of tracing down from, like, here's a press release. We're cutting all this money, trickling that all the way down to, like, this is what it means for this, like, community smack dab in the middle of North Carolina, and what it means for people's lives, for their schools, for the teachers, lives, for the students. What are you with?

B (20:59)

I'm left with a sense that these folks are going to keep on pushing because they have to. You have to educate the children of a community, and they're doing so in a public school format. They will make do. I don't know what is going to be lost because of this. And that's what they're worried about, is they don't know. They don't know the amazing teacher who they're not going to get. They don't know that KATU isn't going to be inspired by that amazing teacher. And this is a district that depends on grants to keep it going. And you know, it's not just Montgomery County. There are school districts and school programs all over the country that have lost their grant money. They've had to dip into their own budgets. There's been this chaos and uncertainty about how they're going to keep on educating the children of their communities and they now have to figure out a way how to do so without those resources sources.

A (21:52)

Well, Ben, thank you so much for sharing this reporting with us. I appreciate it.

B (21:55)

Thank you.

A (21:58)

Ben Brash is a national reporter for the Post. That's it for Post Reports. Thanks for listening. If you love the show, help other people discover it by leaving a rating on Spotify or a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Today's show was produced by Thomas Lu. It was mixed by Shawn Carter and edited by Ariel Plotnick. Thanks to Chastity Pratt. I'm Elahe Izadi. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post.