AFT logo (reads AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services)

Rural Matters Archive

August 2026

A data center stands in a corn field under a blue-grey sky. BackyardProduction / iStock / Getty Images PlusData centers: Where we stand

Nearly 90 percent of existing data centers are in urban areas—but nearly 70 percent of planned data centers are slated for rural areas. The AFT’s and the AFL-CIO’s position is clear: If rural communities are about to bear the brunt of data centers’ impact, AI companies need to step up. The AFT and the AFL-CIO passed resolutions at their respective 2026 conventions committing to protect American workers and American families from shouldering the cost of data centers with their taxes, their monthly bills and their jobs. Here’s a debrief of each resolution: “Data Centers in Our Rural Communities.”

 

Two educators stand next to a graphic that says "Grant Funding 101 for Educations: Building Confidence to Seek School Grants."AFT and Partners for Rural Impact: 'Grant Funding 101'

“Grant funding” might seem like a magical unicorn: a gift of money for your school, hard to find and catch, and requiring special technical skills. But is that really true? This webinar demystifies grant funding by defining grant terms and addressing common barriers such as time, unfamiliar rules and fear of rejection. Success depends less on having a “perfect” idea and more on aligning a need with a funder’s priorities. Watch it here.

 
Save the date for upcoming grant funding webinars:

Building rural power

Join us for the next webinar in our Rural Power series, where we will address best practices to connect locally resonant issues with election participation and develop power-building strategies with partners in your community. The series will build on each other, so we encourage you to join us for both dates!

 
  • Sept. 14, 6 p.m. EDT: Turning Rural Issues into Voter Power. Register here.
  • Oct. 29, 6 p.m. EDT: Mapping Rural Power and Building Partnerships. Register here.

Read about our convening at the AFT’s 2026 convention: “Building Rural Power Starts with Listening—and Organizing.”
 

Smiling mom walk hand-in-hand with their lower-elementary aged children away from the school bus. The school bus is stopped on the side of a two-lane residential road under a tree. There are no sidewalks; the shoulders of the road are unpaved. Fly View Productions / E+ via Getty ImagesWhat will vouchers cost your rural community?

Voucher programs fail rural schools. In rural communities, where private school options are few and far between, vouchers subsidize wealthy urban families. Where private options do exist, they end up draining public school funding. In Ohio, for example, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that a 5 percent voucher-driven enrollment decline would cost rural public schools $206 million. Calculate what vouchers could cost your school district with EPI’s interactive tool.

A gradient blue graphic with yellow headlines and a white AFT Democracy Defenders t-shirt. The text describes the AFT's Democracy Defenders initiative. Defend democracy: Volunteer to safeguard local elections

Protecting our elections isn’t a new fight for us, but as Election Day approaches, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Defending democracy starts right at home; we are building a nationwide network of thousands of volunteers to safeguard our elections at the local level. Whether it’s clearing up confusion about voting rules or making sure polling locations run smoothly, we are taking action to ensure every eligible vote counts. Sign up to be a Democracy Defender.

Subscribe to Rural Matters here. Share your story at RuralCaucus.enews@action.aft.org