“Kids are gonna get hurt” and some 40,000 teachers will lose their jobs. Those were just two of the dire predictions made by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan earlier this year about the impact of sequestration.
Almost immediately Duncan was criticized from all sides—including from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney—for exaggerating. Duncan admitted later this summer that he may have overstated the impact of sequestration—but it’s still a bad, bad thing for education.
Well, apparently not that bad.
EAGnews’ Kyle Olson reports on the travel expenses he obtained from the U.S. Department of Education during sequestration. All told education department officials spent more than $7 million jet-setting last school year. Specifically:
The office of Federal Student Aid led the way with the most travel, racking up over $1.9 million in expenses.
Secretary Duncan’s travel total came to $629,730.04.
Other notable total expenditures by office included:
- Office of Civil Rights: $478,733.07
- Office of Communication Outreach: $485,649
- Office of Management: $296,117.11
- Office of Inspector General: $953,833.48
- Institute of Educational Science: $189,334.29
- Office of Elementary and Secondary Education: $458,673.05
Given that public education is a state and local issue, many question the necessity of even having a federal education department.
Yes, many of us do.