'I resent it': Teacher exodus hits 'Trump stronghold' due to federal budget cuts

A county in North Carolina where nearly 70% of voters favored President Donald Trump in 2024 is facing an exodus of educators following budget cuts to the Department of Education, cuts that have left some residents feeling betrayed.

During Trump’s second term, the Education Department has seen its workforce nearly cut in half, around $900 million worth of research contracts canceled, and around $600 million gutted from teacher-training grants, and all in the name of eliminating “wasteful spending” at the agency, which Trump called a “con job.”

And for some Montgomery County educators, the cuts have not only driven them to different jobs, but to resentment.

“I resent being considered government waste,” said Katie Kimrey, who’s led a 20-year career as an educator, speaking with The Washington Post. “If my kids were grown, shoot, I’d probably be gone, too.”

Kimrey had previously received a $1,500 bonus for her service to Montgomery County schools, a bonus that was to be no more after Trump’s slashing of teacher-training grants.

Another Montgomery County educator, Rhonda Perkins, who voted for Trump, defended her support for the president to The Washington Post, while at the same time, criticizing him for some of his policies.

“I think he’s awful, but he protected my values,” Perkins said.

And other educators had outright left their jobs due to the budget cuts, including 26-year-old Kylie Blankenship, who teaches middle school science.

Speaking with the Washington Post, Blankenship said working for the Montgomery County school system was already a struggle due to its high turnover, lack of resources, and 40-minute daily commute. When it was clear that Trump’s budget cuts would see her modest bonus disappear, Blankenship said she instead sought work elsewhere.

“The fact that those grants were cut, it did push me farther,” Blankenship told The Washington Post. “It gave me that kick.”

Blankenship now works in a neighboring school district making around $42,500, and is joined by at least nine other teachers from Montgomery County that left since Trump’s budget cuts were enacted.