The Department of Education offered its employees a $25,000 buyout last week ahead of impending layoffs, but few took it up.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told News Nation on March 7 that about 300 workers accepted the offer sent via email on Feb. 28. Recipients had three days to respond, and their resignations would take effect on March 31.
The department previously confirmed that most of its 4,500-member staff were extended “a voluntary separation incentive payment” to leave their posts by the end of March, but additional information was not provided.
McMahon’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate on March 4 despite unanimous Democratic opposition. She was sworn in the following day.
During her confirmation hearing, McMahon, a Connecticut Republican, noted that she supports universal school choice and the growth of career and technical education in both K-12 and higher education. She also vowed to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and ideological indoctrination from educational institutions that receive federal funding.
McMahon told News Nation that she’s working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to identify additional cost-saving measures.
“We’re taking out the waste and fraud and the abuse that they find,” she said.
The Department of Education previously verified the planned cancellation of about $1 billion in contracts related to its Education Sciences agency and diversity, equity, and inclusion training in education, which President Donald Trump prohibited under a recent executive order.
McMahon supports Trump’s plan to dissolve her department and put herself out of a job after the agency’s functions and funding streams are moved to other federal agencies or states. The Democrats who voted against her said they could not support a cabinet leader who wants to eliminate the agency she serves.
She previously told federal lawmakers that only Congress, which created the agency in 1979, has the authority to eliminate it.
On March 7, McMahon told NewsNation that she would work to convince Senate Democrats that U.S. public education can only improve if her agency is eliminated.
She said only 47 cents of every dollar her agency provides to states makes it to classrooms, and most of the federal money is spent on compliance with regulations.
“I think my job is to convince Congress that the steps we are taking are in the best interest of the kids,” she said.
“You know, currently, the Department of Education provides 8 to 10 percent of the funding to public schools, so most of it is handled at the state level anyway. But I think it can be better handled with all of the money getting there.”
