HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) – Harrisonburg City School officials are already counting the cost of massive federal funding cuts to education and the potential shutdown of the U-S Department of Education.

Daniel Kirwan, Executive Director of Finance, told Early Mornings on Thursday, March 6, 2025, that if the worst-case scenario happens, the division will lose about $1.3 million in funding.

“There is a proposal to cut Title I funding,” said Kirwan. “Title I funding is for low-income students, by potentially 25%. There’s also a proposal out there that Title II funding for professional learning and Title III funding for English learners would be cut completely.”

Kirwan says some education funding existed before the creation of the Department of Education, including some Title I funds.

Therefore, the city is hopeful that support would simply shift departments or to the states, and then Virginia could pass on that funding to the school system.