Superintendent Susie Hedalen with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and the chief state school officers of Wyoming and Alaska at the White House. (Provided by the Office of Public Instruction.)
On the invitation of President Donald Trump, Montana Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen attended the president’s signing of an executive order this week to close the Department of Education, OPI said in a news release.
OPI said the move will return control of education back to states and local communities, and the president and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have made it clear that key funding and grants for education will remain intact.
In a statement, Hedalen thanked the president and secretary for their “historic action” on Thursday.
“I want to make it clear that President Trump is working to return our education tax dollars to Montana’s parents, teachers, and local communities who know what’s best for their students,” said Hedalen, who took office in January. “We don’t need top-down mandates from D.C. bureaucrats.
“With today’s (Thursday’s) actions, and future efforts from the president and Congress, we can get more resources directly to Montana’s classrooms, reduce burdensome federal reporting on schools, and get education back to basics.”
OPI said the Trump administration made it clear “that no formula funding or statutory grants that Montana schools rely on including Title I, Special Education, career and technical education, school nutrition, or others will be eliminated.”
Hedalen “represented one of the highest-ranking state education officials in the country to support the president in this historic shift to reduce federal bureaucracy in education and improve opportunities for students, teachers and families,” OPI said.
The Trump administration already had reduced the number of employees at the Department of Education by roughly half prior to the order. The president alone cannot shutter the agency.
In Montana, other education leaders have had different reactions to the steps the administration has taken to close the department. Roughly 12.5% of the state’s education budget comes from the federal government.
Lance Melton, head of the Montana School Boards Association, earlier said if federal funding to the state remains intact, the changes could be “potentially innocuous.”
However, Amanda Curtis, president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, earlier said children soon will begin feeling the consequences of cuts because federal employees who calculate formulas and write checks for education have been laid off.
In her statement, Hedalen said OPI is prepared to administer federal funds at the state level and asked for support from other leaders in the field.
“I am proud that Montana is leading the charge, and I encourage my education colleagues to join me in moving forward with a positive vision for the future of education in our state and country,” she said.
In an email to the Daily Montana about the trip, OPI communications and policy advisor McKenna Gregg said she herself also accompanied the superintendent to Washington, D.C., in her capacity as communications director.
“While we do not have an exact cost for the trip, all state travel procedures were followed,” Gregg said. “The superintendent took the most affordable economy flight available from Montana to Washington, D.C.”
Hedalen had phone conversations with members of the congressional delegation while she was in D.C., Gregg said.
Hedalen also met with them last month in Montana to talk about possible changes at the Department of Education and other education priorities they share, such as school safety and military family support, OPI said.
Republicans U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing were in Helena last month to address the Montana Legislature.
“We also reached out to (Council of Chief State School Officers), which is the nonpartisan group of state education officials with staff based in D.C. that provide state education leaders with collaborative opportunities,” Gregg said of the trip. “(Hedalen) was joined by the Wyoming and Alaska state education leaders at the executive order signing.”
Hedalen was back at work in Montana on Friday.