By Kiersten Cowgill
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – The Camden County College Financial Aid Office is unsure what will happen with the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
On March 6, the administration claimed it was in motion to dismantle the department. This notion that America originally saw in Project 2025 is slowly unfolding but is not without pushback. The department oversees the U.S. education system, including loans, grants, federal funds for low-income students, and special education. It is important to note that this plan cannot go through without the approval of Congress.
Third-year counselor in the Financial Aid Office at Camden County College, Patrick Schumann, said he has not received any further instruction or advisement about the administration’s plan to dismantle the department but stated, “Hopefully nothing changes.”
Schumann also advises students that if there are any updates or changes to the situation, they will receive an email from the college and studentaid.gov.
Shortly after the interview, on March 11, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it is planning to place 1,300 staff members on administrative leave. That number is about 50% of the department’s staff. This could lead to these staff members’ receiving termination notices. This plan will go into motion on March 21.
Linda McMahon, the federal education secretary, said the layoffs are meant to help things run better. She said the changes wouldn’t affect student loans, money for college, help for students with special needs, or grants for schools. In an article titled “Secretary McMahon: Our Department’s Final Mission” from the Department of Education’s website, McMahon stated, “The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”
President Donald Trump’s plan for the education system is to have the state and public education systems make decisions about their schools’ policies. This can affect schools’ ability to offer courses such as critical race theory and gender studies.
In the same article, McMahon said, “After President Trump’s inauguration last month, he steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep his promises: combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics.”
Annemarie Huerto, a sophomore at CCC, studying business administration, said she’s scared for the option to further her education. “I wanted to get my business degree, and then I also wanted to get another degree once I figure out what I wanted to concentrate in as far as careers, and now I’m stuck wondering, am I gonna be able to do that? … I enjoy being in school … The possibility that I might not be able to is kind of scary.”
This concern is often an important reality for students across the country.
Huerto also stated, “Almost everybody I know gets some type of financial aid, whether it’s fully covered or not … There’s so many different things we can limit funds on but, education? That doesn’t make sense to me.”