Wake County Public School System superintendent delivers state of schools address

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said the state of Wake County's Public schools is strong -- but is now faced with uncertainty over education changes coming from the Trump Administration

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the Trump Administration is eliminating some teacher training grants stating they promote divisive ideologies centered around DEI.

One of those programs impacted is Project Leaders, which recruits and trains teachers at 23 schools in Wake County.

Federal funding makes up 10% of the budget, which is more than $217 million.

During his State of the Schools address on Wednesday evening at Southeast Raleigh High School, Taylor said Wake will follow the law while trying to reduce the "negative" impacts of any federal education changes.
Wake is also dealing with budget uncertainty over how many more federal grants it may lose.

ABC11 spoke with some parents who said that despite the threat of funding cuts, they're hopeful that Taylor is the right person to lead the school district through uncertain times.

"Even with budget cuts, I believe that he is moving forward and has some steps ahead to make sure that our children still won't be lacking," said Wake County mom Keynisha Chambliss. "Sounds like he's real creative, even with his presentation and using the interaction with the students, it looks like has a plan in place."

Most of Taylor's speech focused on promoting the school district's successes, including being above pre-pandemic levels in multiple state exams.

Just yesterday WCPSS sat down with county commissioners to discuss the anticipated needs heading into budget season.

They discussed the highest areas for continued funding like new schools. student growth, and behavioral health programs, which range from $2 million to $13 million.