Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters was one of many members of California’s congressional delegation to take exception to President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education March 20
Waters, D-Los Angeles, issued a statement calling it “reckless and cruel for the president to even consider abolishing the Department of Education.”
“This blatantly unconstitutional executive order is just another piece of evidence that Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution, which he took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend when he was sworn in as president,” Waters said.
Trump began the process March 20 of carrying out a campaign promise to eliminate the education department, which he has characterized as wasteful and full of “woke” and “liberal” ideology.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the department will continue to manage federal student loans and Pell grants, as well as other critical duties such as enforcement of civil rights.
The Trump administration has already reduced the agency’s workforce as part of a larger plan to downsize federal operations, led by the Department of Government Efficiency.
“We cannot allow Trump to ignore the Constitution, steal funds that belong to our schools, colleges and universities, frighten students, confuse teachers and administrators, and threaten the very fabric of our nation’s educational system,” Waters said about the president’s action.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho also was quick to criticize the plan, saying that undermining current funding levels could prove to be “catastrophic” to the quality of education for students.
In a video statement, Carvalho, who heads the nation’s second largest school district, noted that federal investment of education across the country is reasonably small — about 4% of the total federal budget, annually, or about $270 billion for 15,000 school districts.
LAUSD receives about $1.2 billion of federal investment with about $470 million supporting the largest program, Title 1. Those funds provide services to the “poorest of the poor” in the district that has 85% of its population living at or below the poverty level, according to Carvalho.
Dollars also support children diagnosed with autism and other disabilities, or who require special assistance, as well as students experiencing homelessness.
“These federal programs provide stability, support and accelerated learning for thousands of kids in our district, and millions of kids across America,” Carvalho said.
He warned that dismantling the Department of Education will impact students, teachers, food and education programs.
“Lastly, for those who argue that maybe there’s a better way of earmarking dollars directly to states through block grants and empower states with local decisions, I have news for you: That’s already the reality,” Carvalho said. “This begs the question, ‘Why?’ and ‘Why now?’ and ‘What is the impact long-term that will directly impact our kids?”
The president’s action also prompted swift response from U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and other L.A. elected officials.
“Today’s illegal act by the Trump administration will have disastrous consequences for our schools,” Schiff said in a statement. “It will mean less resources for special education, for teacher training and for individualized attention to the learning needs of each child. That these cuts are made to fund a tax cut for large corporations makes the sacrifice of our schools even more unbearable.”
Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Carson, called Trump’s order a “reckless decision” and an attack on students.
“Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Republicans are ready to destroy our public education system for the purpose of slipping a few extra dollars in the pockets of their billionaire donors. They will strip away essential programs and resources, like Pell grants, Title I funding and anti-discrimination protections, that are critical to student success,” Barragán said in a statement.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, who represents most of Southeast Los Angeles County, added that Democrats in Congress would not rest and will fight to stop these actions and “rebuild America’s education system.”
Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, defended Trump’s order. She attended a recent Parents Not Partisans educational summit, in which they discussed California’s educational outcomes.
“The bloated federal bureaucracy plus California’s incredibly powerful public sector teachers unions have already caused irreparable harm to students,” Hoge said in a statement. “If educating California’s young people actually mattered more than funneling money to that one special interest, Governor Gavin Newsom and his cronies wouldn’t have shut down our schools for almost two years,” referring to COVID.
Congress will have to take action to officially dismantle the Department of Education, a fact that Waters emphasized in her statement.
“As any high school student knows, Trump cannot singlehandedly abolish the Department of Education,” she said.
LIFTOUT
“This begs the question, ‘Why?’ and ‘Why now?’ and ‘What is the impact long-term that will directly impact our kids?”
— LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho
