By Pacific Island Times News Staff
President Donald Trump’s plan to abolish the U.S. Department of Education is designed to decentralize education, Guam Del. James Moylan said today.
“The efforts would empower state and territorial school boards to adopt curriculums instead of being mandated to accept federal standards in lieu of securing certain funds,” Moylan said.
Trump is reportedly finalizing an executive order that would put the federal education agency on the chopping block, which is part of his campaign promise to shrink the size of the federal government.
“While the Trump White House has not yet provided much information to Congress on its plan to abolish the federal DOE and what it entails, we have
been informed that most funding for indigent families or underserved communities, including in the territories, will not be gravely impacted,” Moylan said.
The Guam Department of Education is a recipient of grants managed and distributed by the USDOE. Between 2021 and 2023, the agency received $111 million in Education Stabilization Fund under the CARES Act, and $287 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
“As for my position on the issue, we will have to wait and see the actual plan, how it would impact Guam, and if the executive order is held in a court of law,” Moylan said. “As a House Education and Workforce Committee member, I will continue to advocate for federal funding for our students.”
Moylan noted that abolishing the USDOE was first proposed in 1979 during the Carter administration. The discussion has reemerged several times over the decades under different administrations.
“The concept is simple: remove the federal bureaucracy and move federal funding to the states and territories that have a better grasp of the education needs of the students in their district,” Moylan said.
“The other objectives of the abolishment include removing the red tape of federal bureaucracy in getting funding to local districts and creating more significant opportunities for school choice options.”
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