With the Trump Administration moving forward on plans to dismantle the federal Education Department and move its functions to the individual states, River Valley School District Superintendent Philip Martell has issued a statement seeming to endorsing the action, saying “It’s time to return education to local hands, where choice, competition, and opportunity can flourish.” Martell writes that the U.S. Department of Education has “long overreached, burdening schools with red tape that stifles innovation and local control.”
The federal government pumps about $1.6 billion in to Pennsylvania’s schools. State data tables show that in Indiana County, the feds provide between Marion Center’s 11.53 percent and Indiana Area’s 4.2 percent of district revenues. River Valley’s percentage is not listed in the state information.
Martell will visit Indiana In the Morning on WCCS at 9:10 on Monday morning to explain his position on the U.S. Department of Education.
THE STATEMENT:
“Education should empower families, not uphold bloated bureaucracies. The federal Department of Education has long overreached, burdening schools with red tape that stifles innovation and local control. Those closest to students—parents, teachers, and communities—know what’s best for their children, not distant politicians in Washington. It’s time to return education to local hands, where choice, competition, and opportunity can flourish. No student should be defined—or limited—by their zip code.”
