CMS board members address concerns over proposed cuts to Medicaid program, nutrition funding

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education has sent a letter to local lawmakers highlighting what they say are concerns about a proposed Continuing Resolution in the House of Representatives.

The board claims the resolution “requires a minimum of 10% or $860 billion to be cut from the Medicaid program over the next decade. It further proposes a significant reduction in school nutrition funding” and further said Medicaid cuts would impact more than 17,000 students in the district, with many of the students directly affected being those with specialized needs.

Board Chair Stephanie Sneed noted, “We’re in our budget cycle now.  So, we’re having the tough conversations now on what can be funded, where we will have to trim, what things we would like to do that maybe we can’t do, because we are in uncertain times.”

Sneed and the Board laid out their concerns in a letter to Representatives Alma Adams, Tim Moore, and Mark Harris, who all represent various parts of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Congress.

In a statement to Queen City News, Rep. Adams said of the proposed cuts:

“The proposed cuts to critical programs like Medicaid or Title 1 funds, included in the budget resolution put forward by the House Republican Conference are unacceptable. These proposed cuts will impact more than 17,000 students in my district. It is disheartening to hear that Republicans are trying to punish poor and working class people by taking away these government programs in order to give tax breaks to billionaires and giant corporations. I will continue to push back against these attacks and fight for the working families of the 12th District who need these programs to survive.”

Rep. Harris also responded to our request for comment, saying:

“The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education’s letter is not based in reality. The House Budget Resolution does not include any specific programmatic cuts to Medicaid or school nutrition programs. The resolution directs committees to reform programs and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse of our government that spends $2 trillion more than it takes in annually. Congress must work with the President to put us back on a path to fiscal sanity so our country is in a better position to support students and everyday Americans over the long term.”

Rep. Moore further echoed Harris’s comments, saying:

“While I appreciate the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education’s advocacy for their students, it is important to set the record straight: no specific programmatic cuts to Medicaid or school nutrition programs are mandated as part of the House Budget Resolution — that is a fact. This resolution sets responsible spending targets to rein in wasteful spending and put our country on a sustainable fiscal path, but it does not eliminate or defund the critical programs that support students.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators is in support of the Board’s letter regarding the Continuing Resolution.

“When we look at the black and white fine print and we look at the budget and what could be the effects of it, it means that our students could be losing in our schools and our families could be losing essential programs that really help support the immediate needs of our students,” said CMAE president Amanda Thompson.