Department of Education layoffs: What it means for Wisconsin schools
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- We're learning more about what the sweeping cuts to the U.S. Department of Education mean for Wisconsin classrooms.
On Tuesday, the agency announced 1,315 people were being laid off and that 600 others have accepted offers to leave the department voluntarily. Before the cuts, the department had about 4,133 employees when President Donald Trump took office.
Current and former teachers slammed the staff reductions, including Gov. Tony Evers who previously served as state superintendent.
"This is a clown show. It must end," Evers said during a press call with Democratic governors. "This is bad for our kids, bad for our schools, and bad for Wisconsin."
Evers estimates K-12 schools could lose $1.2 billion in federal funding if the Education Department is dismantled, a key goal of President Trump.
His education secretary Linda McMahon affirmed Tuesday the sweeping layoffs are the first step to shutting down the department, which would need the approval of Congress.
"What we did today was take the first step to eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat," McMahon told Fox News on Tuesday.
While Congress is unlikely to approve a shutdown, other steps by the Trump administration targeting schools are having an immediate impact.
For example, cutting federal grants to states that help schools and food banks purchase healthy foods from farmers.
"We can't be okay with this," said State Superintendent Jill Underly. "This is a program that benefited local farmers, producers and students by providing locally grown products and school meals."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently slashed funding for two federal programs, the Local Food for Schools and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, which helps food banks and other farmers provide food to their communities.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) listed nine different food banks that received the state's share of grant money for the programs, which amounted to $1.5 million.
Of that Wisconsin share, $250,000 went to the Hunger Task Force, which primarily serves Milwaukee, but also distributes food to more than 100 pantries in 29 counties.
Senior officials at the White House say the recent layoffs are also part of Trump's push to "return education to the states," an idea Evers said creates even more uncertainty about the future of education.
"We're headed in the wrong direction," Evers said. "We're going to come up with 50 sets of expectations for kids and that's not going to help us on the world stage."
As for what happens to student loan borrowers and other grants school districts receive, officials predict those services will not be impacted and funding will continue to be distributed.
Critics argue with such a large reduction in staff at the agency, they believe it's going to affect some communication and services that local schools and students count on.