Wyoming Education Association, Public Instruction superintendent take opposing sides in DOE reduction

CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Education recently released a statement regarding the “dismantling” of the Department of Education by the federal government.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the DOE “gutted its staff” by firing 1,300 workers.

“The layoffs mean that the department, which started the year with 4,133 employees, will now have a work force of about half that size after less than two months with President Trump in office,” the New York Times reported. “In addition to the 1,315 workers who were fired on Tuesday, 572 employees accepted separation packages offered in recent weeks and 63 probationary workers were terminated last month.”

This move impacts schools and school districts across the country, and the decision to reduce the Department of Education is met with praise by some and criticism by others.

The Wyoming Education Association sides with the latter.

On Thursday, the WEA issued a statement of strong opposition to the DOE reductions.

“In light of Tuesday’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) would be gutted by more than 50%, the WEA felt it vital to issue a statement on its support of students and public education,” the WEA wrote.

The WEA statement is shared below, in full:

The Wyoming Education Association stands in strong opposition to the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. The harm to Wyoming is significant and will hurt students with disabilities, career and technical education programs, rural communities, low-income families, college-bound students, education professionals, and many others.

Eliminating federal funding will force Wyoming and our local districts to make up the difference. This, combined with the recent school funding lawsuit ruling, could put Wyoming students at a severe disadvantage. The state is already grappling with challenges related to equitable funding, and losing federal support would increase the financial strain on Wyoming’s school districts and harm students — particularly those in rural areas, who are economically disadvantaged, or who have special needs.

According to the U.S. Department of Education Budget Service, the DOE provides the following funding to Wyoming’s schools and students:

• $43.2 million in IDEA Funding (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
• $47.3 million in Title I Funding, impacting 32,518 students
• $36 million in Pell Grants, impacting 7,990 students
• 5.9 million in Career & Technical Education Grants

The haphazard approach to slashing federal funds puts these and additional programs in severe jeopardy.

More than 93% of Wyoming students learn in a public school, many thousands of them benefiting from the federal funds that the DOE provides. Our students need more opportunities to succeed, and we need to strengthen, not dismantle, public education.

The decision to make budget cuts within the Department of Education comes from President Donald Trump, as well as his pick to lead education in America, Linda McMahon. McMahon is serving as the 13th Secretary of Education after she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February.

“After President Trump’s inauguration last month, he steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep his promises: combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics,” McMahon wrote on the Department of Education website. “He has also been focused on eliminating waste, red tape, and harmful programs in the federal government. The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”

Trump’s decision to release more than 1,000 staff is part of the White House’s mission of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency. While some argue that the reductions are harmful, others agree that dismantling the DOE is a necessary move to better serve students and families.

Megan Degenfelder, Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, supports the move.

When reached about the WEA’s statement regarding the DOE “gutting,” Degenfelder’s office declined to comment.

However, Degenfelder released a statement regarding the DOE cuts themselves:

[On Tuesday], the federal Department of Education (DOE) initiated a Reduction in Force as ‘part of its commitment to efficiency, accountability, and a focus on directing resources to students, parents, and teachers.’ Even with the reduction, the agency will continue to deliver on all statutory programs and formula funding, including funding for special needs students.

Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re taking education decisions out of the hands of unelected officials and giving them back to parents, teachers, and local communities. The DOE isn’t ‘closing,’ it’s relocating back to the people who actually educate our kids. That’s real reform.

“President Trump and Linda McMahon understand what DC never will — smaller government means bigger opportunity. This is a win for American students. Washington’s loss is a win for parents, teachers, and students — because real education starts at home, not in a federal office. This move will allow greater flexibility for states, who know best how to educate their students.”

Linda McMahon, who previously served as the U.S. Administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, is the wife of former World Wrestling Entertainment owner and chairman Vince McMahon.

Vince McMahon is currently being investigated by the federal government and is being sued by a former WWE employee for alleged sexual misconduct, sex trafficking and more. Both Vince and Linda McMahon are being accused of knowing about, and failing to stop, the sexual exploitation of five young boys who worked for the company in the 1980s and 1990s.

“The suit, filed in Baltimore County, Maryland, accuses McMahon and his wife, Linda McMahon, and World Wrestling Entertainment and its parent company, TKO Holdings, of allowing the “open, rampant abuse” of so-called “ring boys” as young as 12 who acted as assistants to ringside announcer Melvin Phillips Jr. in the 1980s and 1990s,” NBC News wrote.

Vince McMahon’s lawyer said the criminal probe into his client had been dropped, but there has been no confirmation of that by the investigators.