Radnor teachers rally against $119M federal funding threat

Radnor Township could lose part of $119 million in annual federal education funding, teachers warned at a rally outside Radnor Middle School on Oct. 13.

Teachers and union members gathered at the school to protest cuts they tied to Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint organized by The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, the Delco Times first reported.

Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), said Pennsylvania stands to lose $3 billion in federal education funding each year if proposed policies move forward. That includes $119 million across Delaware County, he said. Chapin pointed to the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, cuts to food assistance and promises to eliminate all federal funding for public education.

More than half of Project 2025's agenda has already been enacted over the past 20 months, Chapin said.

Amy McNally, president of the Radnor Township Education Association, brought the stakes home for local families.

"What many people don't realize is that even districts like Radnor rely on federal funding for things like special ed services, English language learning resources, reading and math intervention, and, of course, here in Radnor, free and reduced breakfast and lunch," McNally said.

Those programs serve a diverse student body. Radnor Township School District enrolls about 3,600 students across five schools, with English Language Learners from 54 home countries speaking 50 native languages, according to district data. The district's special education plan was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education on June 29, 2026.

Andrea Fink, an academic interventionist in the William Penn School District and president of the Southeast Pennsylvania State Education Association, recalled what happened when state funding was cut in 2011. Districts lost guidance counselors, nurses and librarians across Delaware County, she said.

The Department of Education remains open under Secretary Linda McMahon, though its staff has been cut significantly and services have been reduced, the Delco Times reported. President Donald Trump said during his 2024 campaign that he had "nothing to do with" the Project 2025 document, CBS News Pittsburgh reported.

The PSEA held a similar rally in Allegheny County on Monday, Oct. 12, at the Brentwood Borough School District, where Chapin warned that county alone could lose more than $250 million a year.