Op-Ed: Why Medicaid and SNAP Cuts Put School Leaders in an Impossible Position
By Dr. Tiffanie Lewis-Durham
Growing up, there was a period when my family relied on food stamps to survive. At the time I admittedly felt some embarrassment about that fact, yet I found a way to use the foundation provided by that public assistance to achieve several important goals in life. Recently, I learned that my story is similar to that of a popular podcast host whom I’d never imagined I shared much common ground wtih. While our financial success and political views differ drastically, I would argue that our shared experiences with the public safety net show how vital a resource it is for families who are experiencing financial strife and adversity.
That shared experience between us and so many others underscores why I am seriously concerned about the recent budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, which many argue will threaten programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (i.e. SNAP) benefits for many Americans. As both Democrats and Republicans debate the feasibility of the bill and the toll it could take on the American people, I can’t help but think about the implications of this bill for schools and the people who run them — principals and assistant principals.
Principals and assistant principals are often asked to deal with crises in schools ranging from things like paper shortages to devastating gun violence. On a day-to-day basis, these leaders are often engrossed with tasks that directly involve children and families, some who rely on the very healthcare systems and SNAP benefits Congress just agreed to eliminate. This does not make the already complex jobs of school leaders easier. Rather, passage of this bill will only add to the running list of external factors that complicate running schools in the United States.
In North Carolina roughly 1.4 million children rely on Medicaid and nearly 600,000 rely on SNAP benefits alone. For children attending schools in every community, but especially low-wealth communities in North Carolina, changes to these programs could have devastating effects since health and nutrition are deeply tied to things like attendance, academic performance and engagement in schools.
Relatedly, principals in North Carolina are compensated based on their school’s size and ability to show growth on academic metrics. However, with all that is going on in our country and the shift away from protecting the very basic needs of our most vulnerable, i.e. children, it is time for a new metric that considers the complexity of leading schools that are constantly asked to do more with less.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, nearly 60% of children in North Carolina were eligible for free lunch during the 2019-2020 school year, which translates to about 900,000 children in the state. One way that children can qualify for free school lunch is often tied to their eligibility for SNAP benefits. The proposed legislation currently states that a portion of funding for SNAP benefits will be shifted to states. However, there is no guarantee that states will be able to shoulder this cost and may eventually need to cut benefits or change eligibility requirements. This could mean that children who once benefitted from SNAP could lose their automatic eligibility for free school meals. Legislators have also said that families with children under the age of 14 will not lose their SNAP benefits.
Even if policy plans are executed perfectly, and history has taught us that they won’t be, we can still assume that this will have resounding impacts on children and schools since neither is isolated from the collective challenges a community faces. Schools already deal with community issues like food insecurity and psychosocial problems like disengagement, which directly and indirectly impact children and families and makes it more difficult for school leaders to do their jobs.
Organizations like the North Carolina Principal and Assistant Principals Association have been calling for legislators to consider how difficult it is to be a principal. Even before the proposed changes to programs like SNAP, they’ve asked legislators to do something to counterbalance the impending leader shortage where nearly 50% plan to leave their roles in the next three years. Specifically, they have asked for the legislature to consider the complexity of a school, which includes size of a school, characteristics of students served — like housing status, income levels, and languages spoken, in hopes of retaining effective leaders. Simply put, it takes a significant amount of resources and planning to run some schools and leaders should be recognized for that.
Several years ago, I served as the Director of Community Schools for a nonprofit in New York City public schools. Legislators may not realize this, but I saw firsthand that school leaders do more than just oversee classrooms. They are often one of the first points of contact for families who are in need. These cuts impact everyone, including our school leaders and if we must live with the changes, then it is time our lawmakers recognize and support leaders in the incredibly multifaceted role they play.
