Today the US Education Department announced the firing of nearly 50% of its personnel. Well, since tRump has such a *thing* about it, I’m surprised it took this long for cuts to be started. The public persona says “Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.” Uh huh. Those resources aren’t going to get directed into that. I can’t even guess where they would go.
We haven’t had many people in the Education Department that have done much good with it. There are definitely exceptions and it was lovely to see. It was *useful* and did exactly what it should. I’m not sure I’d want to take on the agenda of closing it, knowing that I wouldn’t have a job once it’s done. If I were one of the employees fired, it would be such a relief that it was done and over with. If I hadn’t been fired, I’d be looking over my shoulder constantly, or get nervous about every email, wondering when the next ax will fall. That’s no way to be able to work.
And these cuts are similar to others that have happened via DOGe, thank you Elon Muskrat. Remember the federal government is bloated? Okay I get that, dammit, but it really is a chain saw instead of a scalpel. It’s not done with any care or knowledge of what people actually *do*. And there are concerns that the department can carry out its duties with such a small number of staff. But “the senior officials told reporters that the cuts will not impact federal student aid “in any way, shape or form.” Uh huh.
They are closing offices across the country and are going to one office in DC from three. Guards were seen locking the doors shortly before employees were to exit. Longtime department staffers told CNN they can’t remember a time that all offices were closed, even when significant VIPs have been on site. Chop, chop, chop. Makes me wonder what they are worried about, locking the doors. “There will need to be significant changes to the way we work.” Yup.
Unions for teachers and workers immediately made statements about the layoffs. A big concern is that it’s leaving the most vulnerable students in the dust. Truly? There’s not going to be any more help for them as the endgame is closing it down completely. There will be little help now and no help later when the hammer finally falls for the last time.
Here is my last quote, because she says it better than I could: “What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serve their fellow Americans,” Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, said in a statement. “It is also clear that there is a rampant disinformation campaign to mislead Americans about the actual services, resources, grants, and programs that the U.S. Department of Education provides to all Americans.”
There you have it. A place that helped many students is being closed. What next?
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And not a moment too soon. The public school system has been a train wreck for decades, exacerbated by the very, very corrupt teachers union. The states couldn’t possibly do it worse than the federal government and DOE have been doing it for a long time. Look at the grades, rate of failure and drop outs and world ranking of American students for Christ sake.