Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said school districts across the state will feel the loss of expertise after mass layoffs in the U.S. Department of Education, a move that’s stoking uncertainty over the future of the agency and federal funding for state schools.
The federal department announced layoffs of more than 1,300 workers on Tuesday — or about half of the agency’s workforce — and the termination of offices and leases in cities from Chicago to Boston.
President Donald Trump has said he wants to eventually dismantle the entire agency, which helps administer programs and distribute federal funds to schools across the country.
“You tell me how what they are doing yesterday and today improves one student’s education or saves one damn penny,” Walz said Wednesday from Hayes Elementary School in Fridley. “What they’re trying to do is cut the money and do tax cuts.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the reductions are “ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents and teachers.”
Walz, a former teacher, said school districts rely on federal workers with decades of experience to help distribute critical funds to state schools.
“The Department of Education is filled with experts and people who have the ability to target what we need to do and what we’ve learned over the years to deliver a higher quality of education,” said Walz, a Democrat.
“They randomly cut experts that are impacting our students,” he added.