Paso Robles educators and other community members gathered on Spring Street to speak out about potential cuts to the Department of Education.
"It just seems reckless," said Chris Cardenas, the president of Paso Robles Public Educators. "It seems like it's willy-nilly that we're chopping away resources from people."
"Yes, we need to save money, and we need to be a financially stable society, but we need to make sure that we don't attack populations that are not able to support themselves," said Bernadette Boddington, a school district speech pathologist. "Children are not able to support themselves. If we don't invest in our children, there is no way we can make America great."
President Trump has stated he plans to dismantle the Department of Education as a whole with an executive order, although he will need the approval of Congress.
Another concern the protesters have is the recent federal cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
"I have never been so concerned," said Boddington. "I always trusted the administration to do what's right for the kids, and I always knew that when there was a hard time financially, the needs of the kids came first — and I don't believe that anymore."
While the protesters are against the cuts being made by DOGE, other locals said they support them.
"I, for one, am just tickled to death with what Trump is doing," said Randall Jordan, the Chairman of the SLO County Republican Party. "I think DOGE is just amazing with what they found. They're going through and cutting, unfortunately, the fat from the budgets."
While some community members disagree on the topic, others say they can understand where the other side is coming from.
"I feel for them; I feel for anybody that is losing their job or pending loss of job," said Jordan. "It's a fact of life if you can pay for something and it's no longer needed. I can't wait to see that $36 trillion start going down. That to me will be huge."
One Trump supporter joined the protest after driving by with his son.
"Just because I'm a trump supporter doesn't mean I don't agree with school funding," said protester Kevin Siegel, a Paso Robles resident. "One can be a Trump supporter and also believe in other things that maybe Trump doesn't believe in."
