Schools and parents are anxiously awaiting the impacts of President Trump’s tariff war, fearing the worst for a spike in the cost of food and school supplies.

The situation is fluid, with the president putting a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries but keeping a 10 percent flat rate for most foreign products for now. On imports from China, the trade war has already escalated to 145 percent tariffs.

The unpredictability war is putting school officials and parents in a tough spot as the market fluctuates and economic uncertainty looms.

“It definitely will impact school districts and states in a number of different ways,” said Karl Rectanus, a former educator and administrator, pointing to everything from the cost of food for students to upgrades for technology that most schools bought five years ago during the pandemic.

Trump, who has long argued the global markets treat the U.S. "very unfairly," began the process of instituting tariffs hours after taking office in January, signing an executive order to set 25 percent........

© The Hill