Department of Education layoffs: How could Long Island schools, colleges be impacted?
The federal Department of Education announced Tuesday that it is cutting its staff by nearly 50%. Credit: Getty Images/J. David Ake
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Major staff cuts at the federal Department of Education are raising concerns among Long Island educators, parents and students that special education and student loans could face disruptions.
The federal agency announced Tuesday that it is reducing its staff by nearly half, from 4,133 to about 2,180 workers. It said it was laying off more than 1,300 employees. About 600 workers also accepted severance packages and more than 60 probationary employees lost their jobs.
The Associated Press reported that staff at seven of the department's 12 regional civil rights offices, including in New York, were entirely laid off.
Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said the job cuts would streamline the agency and would not affect financial aid, services for students with special needs or low incomes or other programs. The staff reduction, she said in a statement, “reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”
President Donald Trump reportedly could also sign an executive order directing McMahon to prepare for the dismantling of the agency. Eliminating it would require congressional action and could result in its work being taken over by other federal agencies or by states.
On Long Island, not everyone was confident the staff cuts would leave local students and schools unscathed.
“If a hospital suddenly fired half its doctors, would we call that streamlining health care? Of course not,” said Shawn Wightman, superintendent of the Roosevelt school district. “This isn't just about Washington bureaucracy…. It's about removing the very people responsible for ensuring schools receive funding, students with disabilities get the services they need and civil rights laws are enforced.”
Roosevelt receives more than $5.5 million from the federal Department of Education, including about $1.1 million for special education, Wightman said. “Public education is not a business, and treating it like corporate downsizing will leave our most vulnerable students without care,” he said.
In Suffolk County, the agency funds services for children with special needs, adult learners, migrants and students who are learning English, among other programs, said Eastern Suffolk BOCES Chief Operating Officer David Wicks.
“I think the best word that most people are feeling right now is a bit anxious,” he said. “It absolutely could be detrimental.”
Stony Brook University receives just under $50 million annually in federal grants and other aid. The federal education department also "provides students access to just over $130 million each year” in loans, university spokesperson Kelly Drossel said in an email.
At Nassau Community College in Garden City, the federal Department of Education provides $22.8 million in Pell grants and $11 million in direct loans to students, along with nearly $2.4 million over four years in services available to all students through the college’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant, said Jerry Kornbluth, vice president of the college's Office of Community & Governmental Relations.
“Hopefully it doesn't affect anything, because financial aid is really a key thing for all colleges,” Kornbluth said.
Alexandra Radinsky, 19, a first-year student at Adelphi University who lives in Bellmore, said the special education services she received in middle and high school were crucial in helping her thrive while receiving treatment for autism and anxiety.
Special education services “gave me more academic confidence, as well as helped me… find the career path that now I'm going down,” said Radinsky, who is studying art history and plans to become a librarian.
Even if other federal or state agencies take over the programs now run by the federal Department of Education, "it’s almost like reinventing the wheel,” said Debbie O’Fee, former co-president of the Massapequa school district's Special Education Parent Teacher Association and mother of a 15-year-old boy who has autism. “They're going to have to figure out how to do this now, and that takes time, and that leads to delays in services.”
With the AP
The federal Department of Education provides Stony Brook University students access to just over $130 million in loans annually. The information was incorrect in a previous version of this article.
Major staff cuts at the federal Department of Education are raising concerns among Long Island educators, parents and students that special education and student loans could face disruptions.
The federal agency announced Tuesday that it is reducing its staff by nearly half, from 4,133 to about 2,180 workers. It said it was laying off more than 1,300 employees. About 600 workers also accepted severance packages and more than 60 probationary employees lost their jobs.
The Associated Press reported that staff at seven of the department's 12 regional civil rights offices, including in New York, were entirely laid off.
Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said the job cuts would streamline the agency and would not affect financial aid, services for students with special needs or low incomes or other programs. The staff reduction, she said in a statement, “reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”
President Donald Trump reportedly could also sign an executive order directing McMahon to prepare for the dismantling of the agency. Eliminating it would require congressional action and could result in its work being taken over by other federal agencies or by states.
On Long Island, not everyone was confident the staff cuts would leave local students and schools unscathed.
“If a hospital suddenly fired half its doctors, would we call that streamlining health care? Of course not,” said Shawn Wightman, superintendent of the Roosevelt school district. “This isn't just about Washington bureaucracy…. It's about removing the very people responsible for ensuring schools receive funding, students with disabilities get the services they need and civil rights laws are enforced.”
Roosevelt receives more than $5.5 million from the federal Department of Education, including about $1.1 million for special education, Wightman said. “Public education is not a business, and treating it like corporate downsizing will leave our most vulnerable students without care,” he said.
In Suffolk County, the agency funds services for children with special needs, adult learners, migrants and students who are learning English, among other programs, said Eastern Suffolk BOCES Chief Operating Officer David Wicks.
“I think the best word that most people are feeling right now is a bit anxious,” he said. “It absolutely could be detrimental.”
Student loan concerns
Stony Brook University receives just under $50 million annually in federal grants and other aid. The federal education department also "provides students access to just over $130 million each year” in loans, university spokesperson Kelly Drossel said in an email.
At Nassau Community College in Garden City, the federal Department of Education provides $22.8 million in Pell grants and $11 million in direct loans to students, along with nearly $2.4 million over four years in services available to all students through the college’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant, said Jerry Kornbluth, vice president of the college's Office of Community & Governmental Relations.
“Hopefully it doesn't affect anything, because financial aid is really a key thing for all colleges,” Kornbluth said.
Alexandra Radinsky Credit: Courtesy of Alexandra Radinsky
Alexandra Radinsky, 19, a first-year student at Adelphi University who lives in Bellmore, said the special education services she received in middle and high school were crucial in helping her thrive while receiving treatment for autism and anxiety.
Special education services “gave me more academic confidence, as well as helped me… find the career path that now I'm going down,” said Radinsky, who is studying art history and plans to become a librarian.
Even if other federal or state agencies take over the programs now run by the federal Department of Education, "it’s almost like reinventing the wheel,” said Debbie O’Fee, former co-president of the Massapequa school district's Special Education Parent Teacher Association and mother of a 15-year-old boy who has autism. “They're going to have to figure out how to do this now, and that takes time, and that leads to delays in services.”
With the AP
The federal Department of Education provides Stony Brook University students access to just over $130 million in loans annually. The information was incorrect in a previous version of this article.
Maura McDermott is a reporter on the investigations desk. Since starting at Newsday in 2012, she has also covered real estate and the business of health care.
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