SUPPORT EDUCATION AS NATION GAINS NOTHING FROM IGNORANCE

Horace Mann," Father of Education", believed that education should be available to all

children, free of charge, and funded by the state. Now, in 2024, a goal of the Heritage

Foundation's Project 2025's is to dismantle the Department of Education, a vow

Donald Trump has repeated over and over on the campaign trail.

Presently 90% of children living in the United States go to public schools. State

and local property taxes primarily fund public school systems. Despite what

Senatorial Candidate Eric Hovde says, decisions such as what books are appropriate for

students, falls to local school boards and sometimes state governments, not the federal

government. The Department of Education conducts research and offers guidance on best

classroom practices and curriculum.

Funds from the Department of Education help low-income students, students

with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. The department is

responsible for managing federal financial aid programs, runs the federal work-

study program and administers Pell grants to make college more affordable for

low-income students. It issues regulations on how civil rights laws should apply

to students.

So what could happen if the Department of Education was abolished? For over

forty years this agency has made a tremendous difference in the education of

millions of students. The elimination of Title I would affect 180,300 teaching

positions and 2.8 million students who need small group help in order to

succeed. Over 800,000 preschoolers, toddlers. and infants would lose early

learning services if Head Start was eliminated. Free school meals, which

provide food security to millions of children, would end.

The Trump plan would seek to adopt universal school choice, offering

vouchers for student to attend private schools. Unaccountable voucher schools

are already siphoning off resources that can maintain and improve public

schools. They also are able to refuse to admit children with disabilities.

The idea of eliminating the Department of Education is terrifying to me. I believe strongly in

education and support referendums as the one on the on the November

5th ballot for the Shawano School District. What does our country gain if we

have educational systems that don't meet the learning needs of every one of its

students? What does a government and we, the people, gain from a population that is

uneducated?