VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Education on the Line: The price of shutting down the Department of Education
Anjana Dasam: Life gets busy when you want to help transform a city. Aneesah Evans is one woman who strives to do just that for Syracuse.
Aneesah Evans: That DOJ report, the one that we did together.
Dasam: Evans is a program manager for the mayor’s office. She works on initiatives to improve the Syracuse City School District. The reason? Well, it comes from being a mother of five.
Evans: Did you pick out your outfits for Saturday?
Dasam: With three of her children in college, Evans is focused on guiding her fourth grad on that same path. But with very recent changes in the federal government, a big question remains– can she expect to receive the same help for her daughter?
Donald Trump: I’m going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states. And we’re going to do it fast.
Dasam: President Trump criticizes the Department of Education for a high per-student cost in public schools. But shutting down the DOE may cost families like Evans’ greatly – it could eliminate the aid programs – she relies on.
Evans: It seems like a dumpster fire that’s currently going on, and we have to pay for it.
Dasam: Some programs that are funded by the department include the National School Lunch Program, Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, Title One, and Pell grants. These programs help low-income families have a fair chance for success as Evans believes hard work can only get you so far.
Evans: And then we’re complaining about picking yourself up by your bootstraps, but you don’t want to give me any material for that? You don’t want to give me any education towards it? It’s a punishment for people that didn’t ask to have the circumstances that they have.
Dasam: While Evans hopes to protect these programs here at the school district, if you take a walk 400 miles south, you’ll end up here – at the capitol, where Congress decides the future of the Department of Education. Congressman and former educator John Mannion says he is ready to take action.
John Mannion: We want to progress as a society, not degress. These actions are short-sighted. The impact is going to be far reaching, and I reject them. And I’ll always stand up for public education, and our students and our most vulnerable students.
Dasam: And those students have been protected through the department’s office of civil rights. With recent anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, race-based programs are on their way out.
Mannion: We can try to put a tagline of DEI and demonize not just the acknowledgment that we should be inclusive, and we should be diverse, but it actually demonizes the people that fall into that category, and for that I have absolutely no tolerance for.
Dasam: Back in Syracuse, Evans feels the new reality kicking in.
Evans: It makes me angry.
Dasam: For Evans’ daughter Railynn, these programs helped her pass classes and discover her passion in nursing. Without them, she wouldn’t be just a few months away from graduating high school.
Raiylnn Oliver: I feel like I’d struggle a lot. I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t graduate, but I would probably struggle to get there.
Dasam: Evans says she spent years in survival mode, working hard to build a better life for her kids. But now, she feels the government is taking steps back, putting their future careers at risk.
Evans: Just because you were born into a family that isn’t wealthy doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have opportunities available to you.
Dasam: The government’s unpredictability concerns Evans, who wants to prepare for what’s ahead.
Evans: We have to get to a place where we know what’s coming, but it’s hard to do because you don’t know what’s coming and when. So how do you fight the unknown?
Dasam: Even though Evans worries about supporting her daughter financially, Railynn is confident she still has the support she needs.
Railynn: Since she was able to bring them up like that, I can’t sit here and doubt that I can’t do the same or even better.
Dasam: Evans isn’t sure she can rely on the federal government but is sure in her effort of raising her children.
Railynn: Punch buggy no punch buggy back.
Dasam: By building a strong foundation and being their inspiration. Reporting in Syracuse, Anjana Dasam, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Life gets busy when you want to help transform a city.
Aneesah Evans is a program manager for Mayor Ben Walsh’s office. Evans has been heavily involved in working on initiatives to improve the Syracuse City School District. Her interest in the district comes from raising five children. With three of her children in college, Evans is focused on guiding her youngest daughter, Raiylnn, on the same path. However, recent proposals from the federal government have left her questioning whether she can expect the same financial support for her daughter’s education.
President Donald Trump has spoken out about his plan to close the Department of Education. He said that the per pupil cost was too high, and education should be “sent back to the states.”
“How fast are they going to be able to crank it out?” Evans said. “They’re firing people left and right. Who’s going to process this stuff? It seems like a dumpster fire that’s currently going on, and we have to pay for it.”
For Evans, programs like the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and Pell Grants, which are funded through the department, give a huge advantage for helping her financially. She believes that hard work can only get you so far.
“And then we’re complaining about picking yourself up by your bootstraps, but you don’t want to give me any material for that?” Evans said. “It’s a punishment for people that didn’t ask to have the circumstances that they have.”
The Congress has the power to remove the DOE. New York 22nd District Congressman and former educator John Mannion says he is ready to prevent this action.
“We want to progress as a society, not (regress),” Mannion said. “These actions are short-sighted. The impact is going to be far reaching, and I reject them. I’ll always stand up for public education, and our students and our most vulnerable students.”
Those students have been protected through the department’s office of civil rights. However, with recent anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, race-based programs are on their way out.
“We can try to put a tag line of DEI and demonize that we should be inclusive, and we should be diverse. But it actually demonizes the people that fall into that category. For that, I have absolutely no tolerance for,” Mannion said.
Raiylnn said that these programs helped her pass classes and discover her passion in nursing.
“I feel like I’d struggle a lot,” Railynn said. “I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t graduate, but I would probably struggle to get there.”
Evans has spent years in survival mode, while trying to provide a better life for her children. Now, she fears that the government is moving backward, jeopardizing their opportunities. But she hopes she can plan ahead.
“We have to get to a place where we know what’s coming, but it’s hard to do because you don’t know what’s coming and when,” Evans said. “So how do you fight the unknown?”
While Evans worries about supporting her daughter financially, Railynn is confident she still has the support and guidance she needs from her mother.
“I think she’s always kind of been there to be like a role model,” Railynn said. “She doesn’t even need to tell me much. I can just look at her and be like okay, if she can do that, then I can do that.”