US Dept. of Education Amid Government Shutdown

The government shutdown has been a source of anxiety for school leaders wondering how long the money will last. The quick answer is... July, as most of the billions of dollars the Education Department steers to schools each year goes out shortly after the school year begins. Money is still flowing for key programs, so it’s hard to argue that schools and states are completely on their own, though they should.

President Trump claims he wants states to have full reign of education policy with little or no influence from the federal government. I have been of that viewpoint for decades. Education doesn’t need to be federalized. Buffalo, NY is not Buffalo, SD. What works in one social environment seldom works in another. The Carter administration’s creation of the federal Dept. of Education was never necessary. In fact, it’s been a financial disaster.

Since the DOE’s inception in the late ‘70s, education costs have skyrocket four-fold – after adjusting for inflation. Sadly, today’s school leaders and teachers have no idea of how well education actually worked, and at a reasonable cost, since all they’ve known is federally assisted education.

Prior to the shutdown, mass layoffs had left the agency with 2,400 employees, down from 4,100, and remaining workers have mostly been furloughed during the budget impasse. This has left some 330 people who are responsible for carrying out duties that are deemed essential. Good - on all counts. If something or someone is not deemed essential, taxpayers shouldn’t be funding it or them. Taxpayers have their own financial problems to deal with.

Though correct in wanting to end the department, Education Secretary, Linda McMahon crazily stated, “Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal.” Well, no kidding. Reread the first paragraph - the money was already sent! Could she say anything more disingenuous?

Other programs that aren’t funded in advance face more uncertainty. That includes federally funded Head Start and school nutrition programs. Districts are required to cover the cost of school meals and then seek reimbursement from the Department of Agriculture, which claims it only has two months of reimbursements left. Here’s an idea for parents. Pack a lunch for your kids. It’s what numerous parents did before the cradle to grave nanny state arrived. Kids would even swap sandwiches or snacks.

There’s also other issues such as student loans, legal obligations to students learning English, and adult education to name a few. Why should the government be involved? Could adults please start being adults again? Society shouldn’t exist to be your kid’s babysitter from birth to graduation. Society shouldn’t have to pay to teach English, via the government enablers, to children of immigrants. Every generation has had it’s difficulties. Only recently have we become responsible for other people’s problems as well as our own. It’s not working! It needs to end. “It Takes a Village”… or a government agency... is destroying us.

Source used: Associated Press