EDUCATION: Belongs in the state’s hands

One budget cut needed,

In 1867, Andrew Johnson started the Department of Education, which was supposed to be a fact finding mission on education to see how schools were progressing. It had 15 employees and a budget of $15,000. It’s come a long way from its original mission.

Today the budget for 2024 is $238 billion, with 4,400 employees. In 2023, the budget was $274 billion and in 2022 the budget was $637 billion. So from 2022 to 2023 they were able to eliminate $399 billion from their over bloated budget, amazing. Wonder where all those billions went? I wonder if the Director of the DOE took a pay cut from his current salary of $245,000!

It has always been the states and local governments role to handle education. Basically, we taxpayers hand over our tax dollars to the DOE and then they give some of it back to the states with conditions. Some say many of those guidelines were political and nothing to do with education.

Did you know Harvard college has a course entitled, “Music 1: Introduction to Western Art Music, From Bach to Beyoncé.” Wow, all that tuition money parents pay to learn about Beyonce. I wonder if the DOE should regulate this course and how much it does for education.

I say get the DOE out of education and give it back to the states.

GEORGE SILVA

Coeur d’Alene