Politics
Education Department cuts half its staff as Donald Trump vows to wind the agency down
The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff — a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.
Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.
The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100, the agency said.
The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.
The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said.
Department officials said it would continue to deliver on its key functions such as the distribution of federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of Pell Grants.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said when she got to the department, she wanted to reduce bloat to be able to send more money to local education authorities.
“So many of the programs are really excellent, so we need to make sure the money goes to the states,” McMahon said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News.
McMahon told employees to brace for profound cuts in a memo issued March 3, the day she was confirmed by the Senate. She said it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states.
The department sent an email to employees Tuesday telling them its Washington headquarters and regional offices would be closed Wednesday, with access forbidden, before reopening Thursday. The only reason given for the closures was unspecified “security reasons.”
Trump campaigned on a promise to close the department, saying it had been overtaken by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” At McMahon’s confirmation hearing, she acknowledged only Congress has the power to abolish the agency but said it might be due for cuts and a reorganization.
Whether the cuts will be felt by America’s students — as Democrats and advocates fear — is yet to be seen. Already there are concerns the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the agency’s most fundamental work, including the enforcement of civil rights for students with disabilities and the management of $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.
McMahon told lawmakers at her hearing that her aim is not to defund core programs, but to make them more efficient.
Even before the layoffs, the Education Department was among the smallest Cabinet-level agencies. Its workforce included 3,100 people in Washington and an additional 1,100 at regional offices across the country, according to a department website.
The department’s workers had faced increasing pressure to quit their jobs since Trump took office, first through a deferred resignation program and then through a $25,000 buyout offer that expired March 3.
Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform, which advocates for charter school expansion, said the cuts were important and necessary.
“Ending incessant federal interference will free up state and local leaders to foster more opportunities to give schools and educators true flexibility and innovation to address the needs of students, wherever they are educated,” Allen said.
Some advocates were skeptical of the department’s claim that its functions would not be affected by the layoffs.
“I don’t see at all how that can be true,” said Roxanne Garza, who was chief of staff in the Office of Postsecondary Education under President Joe Biden.
Much of what the department does, like investigating civil rights complaints and helping families apply for financial aid, is labor intensive, said Garza, who is now director of higher education policy at Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization. “How those things will not be impacted with far fewer staff … I just don’t see it.”
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press
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Lakeland City Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley has announced she will run for Mayor in November.
“Lakeland is an incredibly special place to raise a family and run a business,” Roberts McCarley said. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and continue to serve the community I love, because I know that together, we can meet the challenges of tomorrow and get real results that move us forward.”
That makes Roberts McCarley the first candidate to file in the 2025 city elections.
The native Lakeland resident has served on the Lakeland City Commission since 2019, representing District C Southwest.
She previously served as Executive Director of Polk Vision, a community planning effort. She also served as the state director for Best Buddies International.
Roberts McCarley also volunteers with the Bonnet Springs Park Board, Randy Roberts Foundation Founder, Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance Board, Junior League of Greater Lakeland, Sun N Fun Board, and Night to Shine. She is Vice President of the Ridge League of Cities.
Roberts McCarley founded the Randy Roberts Foundation, named for her late first husband, which has provided more than $300,000 in scholarships to more than 245 students, according to her LinkedIn page.
Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz announced last year that he will not seek another term, according to LkldNow. He has served as the city’s Mayor since 2018.
Roberts McCarley is one of six City Commissioners. She said her platform includes “keeping local government accountable and transparent, protecting taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars and supporting Lakeland’s first responders.”
Roberts McCarley’s seat is also up for re-election this year, as is the District D Southeast spot and an at-large Commission seat.
A General Election is scheduled for Nov. 4. A runoff, if necessary, is scheduled for Dec. 2. Elections are nonpartisan.
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Your cats, dogs and other pets may have some extra help during future vet visits.
Sen. Jennifer Bradley’s legislation (SB 652), which qualifies “veterinary professional associates,” moved forward in the Regulated Industries Committee and now has two stops before the floor.
Bradley noted that this bill simply extends the long-standing parameters that apply to human care to house pets.
“Almost 50 years ago back in 1976, we first recognized physicians’ assistants for humans, allowing PAs to practice under physician supervision. This bill brings the same model to veterinary care,” she said.
These associates must be trained, with master’s degrees from approved programs. And in most cases, they must be supervised.
They can give shots and submit the animal to anesthesia with the vet on hand, and can give medicine and get stool and blood samples unsupervised. However, they are barred from prescribing drugs or performing surgery except for spaying and neutering.
The supervising vet is liable if the associate commits an error.
If the bill becomes law, it takes effect in July.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund and Americans for Prosperity support this legislation.
Other advocates on hand noted that skyrocketing costs and lack of easy access to vets have led to some animals going without care and others being surrendered.
Reaction to the bill defied traditional partisan lines.
Sen. Jim Boyd — a Republican, like Bradley — objected to the bill, saying that vets he had talked to had raised concerns about assistants doing these surgeries.
However, Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo said he backs the legislation.
The bill seems to have a path in the House as well.
The companion bill from Republican Rep. Lauren Melo has its first hearing Wednesday in the Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee.
Both bills have two stops ahead.
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