GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers voiced strong opposition to a proposal that would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, warning that the move could devastate public schools across the state and the country.
The plan, supported by former President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’ successor, Linda McMahon, aims to shift education oversight to individual states.
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Currently, the Department of Education provides billions of dollars in funding for critical programs like Title One and special education. Evers argues that dismantling the department would strip essential resources from students who rely on them the most.
“He can hand it off to whoever he wants to, but the goal is to get rid of the department. That’s a problem,” Evers said. “But even more of a problem is that the secretary of education is already talking about reducing some of the big programs, like Title One, special education, and things like that.”
The governor warned that local school districts could be forced to rely on frequent referendums just to compensate for lost federal funding, putting additional financial pressure on communities.
“People have a lot of referendums now… good lord,” Evers said. “They’d have to be doing them every six months just to cover the money that they are planning on cutting.”
Supporters of the plan argue that eliminating the department would give states more control over their education systems, allowing them to allocate funds and set policies without federal oversight.
However, Evers and other critics fear that without federal support, vulnerable students, including those with disabilities and low-income families, would suffer the most.
Abolishing the Department of Education would require congressional approval, including 60 votes in the Senate, making it an uphill battle given the current political landscape.
As debates continue, Evers is calling on lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to take a stand against the proposal.
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“We have three branches of government in this country, and one of them is doing nothing,” he said. “That is wrong.”
The future of the Department of Education remains uncertain, but for now, Wisconsin schools, and the students who depend on federal support, are watching closely.
