Alesia Flye has been an educator for 30 years and while the chief academic officer and assistant superintendent for instruction at Macomb Intermediate School District has seen funding for public schools cut, it has never been to the extent of getting rid of the Department of Education (DE).

President Donald Trump has advocated for the elimination of the federal DE and his administration appears to be making moves to do just that.

“We only know what we’ve been hearing in the media and based on that we are certainly concerned,” said Flye.

She’s also seen a lot of misinformation being circulated and until the MISD, as an education institute is told something substantial, she prefers not to react in a way that would insinuate this information.

“There’s so much speculation on what’s going to happen, and I don’t want to feed into that misinformation,” Flye said. “We will always advocate for our students and once we have more information we will continue to do that.”

“I am concerned about any discussions related to the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education,” said Judith Pritchett, a longtime educator and member of Michigan’s State Board of Education. “First, we need to remember that it would take an act of Congress for that to happen.”

While the administration pushes that, it is taking steps to curb programs.

“This week, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced it canceled 89 education department contracts worth $900 million. The department also said it canceled 29 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training grants worth $101 million,” The Washington Post reported.

The DOGE has also fired at least 39 employees who were in a one-year probation period, according to a union that represents agency workers. The firings include civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials.

Among those who support the changes to the DE is Republican state Rep. Joseph Aragona, a Macomb Township Republican.

“The national debt is going up by $1 trillion about every 100 days and we now spend more on interest payments than we do on defense, which is totally unsustainable. If we don’t get spending under control, the country is going to go bankrupt. That’s just math,” said Aragona, noting he supports getting rid of unnecessary bureaucracy and that’s what he believes Elon Musk and DOGE are doing. “Most local education funding comes from the state, and education issues are handled better at the state and local level. The federal department is heavily bureaucratic and redundant; its functions can be handled better at the state level.”

What worries Pritchett, Flye and other educators are the programs that could be affected by the the elimination of the DE including:

• Title I, Part A — Supports low-income schools.

• IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) — Funds special education services.

• Title II — Supports teacher training and professional development.

• Title III — Provides funding for English Learner (EL) programs.• Title IV — Supports students well-being, school safety, and STEM programs.

• McKinney Vento Act — Supports homeless students’ education and transportation.

Of the programs in Michigan touted as examples across the country are those created through the Perkins CTE Act, which allocates funds for career and technical education programs such as those now working to increase the workforce for manufacturing, engineering and other industries.

“Macomb County has a tradition of excellence when it comes to Career and Technical Education (CTE) options for students. As a result of strong partnerships with Macomb County Schools, the Macomb County Executive Office, Macomb Community College and local businesses we offer over 250 CTE program options for students. Macomb County also hosts the largest Manufacturing Week in the country,” Flye said.

The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and the Office for Civil Rights, which still investigates allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, as well as sex and other factors, are also administered nationally.

The DE also runs achievement tests, dubbed the Nation’s Report Card, and collects statistics on enrollment, crime in school, staffing and other topics related to American students, including its federal student loan program amounting to an estimated $1.7 trillion in loans.

“These funds, allocated to the states by the Department of Education, make a difference for millions of children in our country,” Pritchett said.

Flye concurred.

“The Department of Education has historically provided vital funding, services and policy guidance in all of (these) areas,” she said. “Schools and families depend on this support and it will impact some of the most vulnerable student populations. For example, Title I provides supplemental resources for some of our neediest schools, where free and reduced lunch eligibility may exceed 80%.”

During her confirmation hearing U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon said it would be worthwhile to take a look at the programs.

“It’s much easier — it is much easier to stop the money as it’s going out the door than it is to claw it back,” she told lawmakers during that session.

Aragona doesn’t believe the programs have to go away.

“It’s the Michigan Department of Education that distributes the dollars and there’s no reason those funds can’t be appropriated by Congress directly to the states,” he said. “Important grants and necessary functions will still be funded.”

“Donald Trump is doing exactly what he was elected to do and this is exactly what we need to get spending under control,” added Aragona.

Historically, Trump is not the first president to scrutinize the Department of Education.

America’s first federal education department was actually created in 1867, during the presidency of Andrew Johnson. Its main objective then was to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the states establish effective school systems.

But it was short lived.

“President Johnson was ambivalent about it, at best and it lasted only a year before Congress demoted it to an office in the Department of the Interior (and later Office of Education). It wasn’t re-established as a department for another 111 years,” according to an article published on History.com.

However, through demands related to education including the advancement of science education in response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, it evolved into the Office of Education. In 1979, under Jimmy Carter’s presidency it was re-established as a federal education department.

According to History.com, the department began operating in May 1980, yet controversy around it remained in the years that followed. For example, President Ronald Reagan had shared his plans to dismantle the department. By eliminating the Department of Education less than two years after it was created, Reagan said in 1981, “we cannot only reduce the budget but ensure that local needs and preferences, rather than the wishes of Washington, determine the education of our children.”

Despite his efforts, the idea was abandoned due to a lack of congressional support.

Today, it operates programs on every area and level of education.

“The department’s elementary and secondary programs annually serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million students attending roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools. Department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 12 million postsecondary students,” according to the DE.

Teachers are not the only ones worried about recent developments.

“We have been hearing from our special needs parents who have concerns regarding the long-standing federal support for students with disabilities,” said MISD Superintendent Mike DeVault.

However, Michigan Superintendent Michael Rice said no programs in Michigan have been affected yet due to ongoing court rulings.

During his campaign Trump pledged to put public schools back in the hands of parents.

Democrat State Senator Veronica Klinefelt, who started her political career as a mom fighting for a seat on the East Detroit School Board, said she’s concerned it’s a move to control who gets funding and who doesn’t and that will create a system of winners and losers based on political ideology.

“The great thing about public school districts is they have an elected board that the public can always replace if they aren’t happy with the direction of the district. I do believe the Macomb County school boards are a reflection of the public,” Klinefelt said. “I think the state has to monitor every action taken at the federal (level). If they are acting in a manner that is going to be harmful to students in Michigan and they aren’t acting in accordance with the law we must be prepared to fight against them. We cannot have a system where a small group of people determine funding not based on a set of criteria but based on geographical area or political preference

On second thought, “here’s another solution,” said Klinefelt. “Don’t take a wrecking ball to our education system.”

— MediaNews Group staff Writer Matthew Fahr contributed to this story.