WHAT COULD PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE IF WE MADE DIFFERENT CHOICES?

We should live in a country where our tax dollars fund public schools, housing, care, and stability, not billionaire tax breaks, attacks on our communities, and endless war.

The Trump administration is proposing $7.3 BILLION in cuts to public education in the FY2027 budget -- this could mean massive reductions in summer and afterschool programs, arts and tech classes, teacher recruitment and training, emergency preparedness, special needs supports, and more. Rural communities would be hit especially hard.

At the same time, billions of public dollars continue flowing toward priorities that leave communities behind while classrooms are overcrowded, schools struggle to hire educators, and students lose resources they need.

While proposing billions in cuts to education, this administration is also spending $11 billion per week on war in Iran. We are dropping billions of bombs overseas while school facilities in our state decline, classrooms are overcrowded, districts cannot afford trained teachers, and students with disabilities are deprived of necessary services.  

These are choices.

When billionaires rig the rules and politicians protect their power, working people pay the price. Families are forced to absorb cuts, schools lose resources, and communities are left fighting over what remains while the ultra-rich keep getting richer.

We deserve a country that puts workers and families before billionaire fortunes. A country where public dollars strengthen public schools, lower costs, and invest in the things communities need to thrive.

This new interactive calculator visualizes what public schools could have in three scenarios:

• Imposing a 5% wealth tax on billionaire school privatizers

• Reallocating the ICE budget

• Redirecting Iran war spending toward public education.

Use the calculator below to see what becomes possible when we make different choices. Choices that put workers over billionaires.