The Trump Administration is Slashing the Department of Education, Threatening Public Education for Kids to Fund More Tax Breaks for Billionaires and Corporations

Des Moines, Iowa -- The Trump administration is cutting thousands of staff from the U.S. Department of Education, a move that Education Secretary Linda McMahon says is the first step toward shuttering the department completely. 

Iowa’s public schools are already making major changes due to funding losses, cutting staff and limiting resources available to students. Laying off half the Department of Education’s staff could hurt programs like TRIO and Upward Bound that ensure every Iowa student, no matter their income or where they are from, is prepared for a successful career. These federal employees help deliver Pell Grants and other financial aid to working Iowans. They execute funding for Special Education to ensure kids with learning disabilities access their right to learn.. As more cuts are made to public education, Iowa teachers could lose jobs, students won’t have access to programs that they need to succeed, and more public schools could close. 

Iowans working with Fairness for Iowa are calling on Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Congressman Zach Nunn to oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the Department of Education and any actions that harm public education Iowa families rely on. 

“Their intent is fully transparent: taking resources that should be helping millions of students in public schools and funneling them to private schools and tax handouts for billionaires,” Becky Sinkler, a retired elementary school teacher from Norwalk said. “Representatives Nunn and Miller-Meeks can’t stand for this — taking opportunities away from Iowa’s children and communities is the opposite of what they were elected to do.”