CA School Budgets in Disarray After Trump Freezes Federal Funding

Suzanne Potter–CA school budgets are in limbo as almost 7 billion dollars in expected federal education funding is being withheld to determine if grant programs support administration priorities.

Panic has set in at school districts across the Golden State as the Trump administration continues to withhold federal funds. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says California school districts stand to immediately lose close to one billion dollars. Dr. Luis Valentino is a retired superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District and host of the podcast “District Leader: Transforming Education.” He says unless this is resolved quickly, schools will be forced to cut back or even eliminate programs.

Last week the Department of Education notified schools across the country that five grant programs are now “under review” to determine if they align with administration priorities. In a statement to Real Clear Politics, the Office of Management and Budget said “initial findings have shown that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.” The grants in question fund summer learning, teacher professional development and after-school programs. They also fund English language classes and support for children of migrants.

The grants are usually distributed on July 1st. Valentino warns there will be far-reaching consequences if the congressionally-approved funding isn’t restored.

Programs already underway this summer are now in limbo. In a statement, the head of the Boys and Girls Clubs said that without the promised funding, more than 900 sites nationwide serving 220-thousand kids could be forced to shut their doors, taking almost 6-thousand jobs with them.

June 27, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery won two awards from Society for Professional Journalists in the San Diego SPJ Journalism competition. The honors bring ECM’s total awards to 149 since our founding in 2008. 

In the series category for daily reporting and writing, Raftery took third place for her series on the Water Conservation Garden’s growing pains.  The series chronicled the Garden’s financial struggles, brief closure, and reopening after operations were taken over by the Garden’s joint powers authority. View the series:  part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Raftery also won third places in the opinion/editorial category for her editorial published last July 4 , titled As we celebrate Independence Day, our democracy is at risk. Several of the threats to our democratic system of government  that she warned of have since come to pass via authoritarian actions rolled out by the Trump administration following the blueprint outlined in Project 2025.

https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/ecm-wins-two-journalism-awards

CUSTOM TAYLORED with Tim Taylor Sunday 11am-Noon

FOR YOUR MUSIC ENJOYMENT

CUSTOM TAYLORED is a chronological journey of the popular music that influenced rock and roll. This episode is part of a subseries on the music that led to post war urban blues. Featured today are some acoustic blues, some boogie woogie, and some classic jazz. All of the songs in the episode were first recorded or released in 1941. You’ll hear ROBERT PETWAY, SISTER ROSETTA THARPE and GENE KRUPA & HIS ORCHESTRA, among others.

FRIENDLY FIRE LIVE with Don Kimball Sat 2-3pm

A Show for and About Veterans

GUESTS: VETERANS FOR PEACE MIKE FERNER and LISA LING

Studio Call-in Number 619-790-KNSJ (5675)

Don Kimball is originally from Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts. Don got the “radio bug” in 1971, when he became a DJ at the student-operated radio station KVPC-FM on the campus of Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. He’s holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Cal Poly Pomona and is a graduate of the Brown Institute of Broadcasting. Don is a veteran of the US Air Force where he worked as an air traffic controller. Don is a board member of Military Families Speak Out, and a Veteran For Peace member of Chapter 91 in San Diego. 

Don started Friendly Fire, A Voice For Veterans in 2017 at WMPG-FM, a community radio station on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. Friendly Fire is also heard on KURU-FM in Silver City, NM. He has interviewed veterans and their families and supporters from as far away as Japan and Ireland. He guests have included everyone from enlisted personnel to US Senators and Congresspeople. Don’s guests have included author Norman Solomon, author of War Made Invisible, UCSD professor Colonel Greg Daddis, whistleblower Reality. L Winner and Veteran For Peace Advisory Board Member, former US Marine Captain, State Department official, NC Green Party Senatorial Candidate and current Eisenhower Media Institute co-director, Matthew Hoh. 

Among the many issues Don has covered on his show are those dealing with veteran homelessness, PTSD, MST, deported veterans, TBI, The Veteran’s Administration, USAF veteran whistleblowers Daniel Hale and Reality Winner, and the epidemic of veteran suicide. Don hopes his show will give veterans an opportunity to let the listeners know what really happens to them and their families when they serve, and how people can work together for the common good of everyone instead of making war against helpless women and children in third world countries, destroying their homes and lives, while at the same time creating an atmosphere of hatred towards the US making citizens here less safe as terrorists seek revenge for America’s endless wars. 

TALK OF THE TOWN with Mike Aguirre LIVE Sat 11am

Celebrating KNSJ’s birthday, Mike and KNSJ show hosts, producers, and other volunteers who give their time behind the scenes, talk about KNSJ public community radio and what KNSJ’s mission means to them. KNSJ launched on July 4 2013. Join us. Our call in number is 619-790-KNSJ (5675).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KNSJ

July 4, 2013

Thank you to all of our listeners and supporters as we celebrate our 12th year on the air. And a special thank you to all of KNSJ’s volunteers who work tirelessly in front of and behind the microphone to run the radio station and bring you programming, stories and music you won’t hear on other San Diego stations.

THE ELECTRIC PICNIC with Susan Taylor Mon 8am

Guest Poet: Leah Meihaus

Leah is an educator and poet who believes that teaching is possible, and that eventually she’ll figure out how to do it. She enjoys baking. She sings when content. She wonders where along the road it all went right and how to get there from here. She holds a master’s degree because something spilled on the certificate and stuck to her hand and won’t come off. She has a bedtime and she does not follow it. She hopes more poets realize they’re everyone. She knows the future is uncertain and dangerous and she invites herself to be there to see it

CUSTOM TAYLORED with Tim Taylor Sunday 11am

Custom Taylored is a chronological journey of the popular music that influenced rock and roll.

SOLITUDE CITY with Carson Young, Sunday 3pm

The best in jazz for your Sunday afternoon.

TALK OF THE TOWN with Mike Aguirre Sat 11am

Mike is in conversation with Marjorie Cohn on consitutional law nationally and internationally focusing on Iran during the first half of his show.

Duncan McFetridge, ex officio member of The Cleveland National Forest Foundation, then joins Mike to talk about the sale of public lands, land that belongs to the people, under the current federal administration. They discuss how that will affect us in East County reaching into the Anza Borrego Desert.