Arkansas could benefit from potential elimination of federal Department of Education, according to Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva spoke Tuesday on the possibility of the U.S. Department of Education being shut down by the forthcoming presidential administration.

Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch) asked Oliva about the impact a DOE shutdown would have on individual states during a meeting of the legislature's joint budget committee following news reports of President-elect Donald Trump's possible plans to eliminate the agency.

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Oliva explained that there could be benefits from that scenario, given the lack of independence he feels states have because of DOE funding.

"I think the hope and the desire is that we would still continue to receive that allocation without the bureaucracy red-taping the strings that the feds like to put on those dollars," Oliva said.

Oliva said he'd like to see Congress still provide money to Arkansas to fill in the gaps of what would be missing from his department, adding that the state currently receives money from the DOE, especially for students in special education.

April Reisma, President of Arkansas Education Association, offered a contrasting view on Wednesday.

"One of the keywords that was used in the comments was the word hope," Reisma said. "Our students, especially our most vulnerable ones, cannot rely on hope to make sure that they get the help that they need to be able to grow and thrive in our public schools. Eliminating the department would cause chaos for the programs that are funded by it."

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Reisma added that DOE provides funding for high-poverty K-12 school districts, Head Start programs providing child care services for low-income and rural communities, Pell Grants, which help low-income students attend college and the department also provides resources to support students with disabilities through age 21.

"We cannot hope that the money would get to Arkansas," she said.

Former Little Rock School District superintendent and longtime public school advocate Baker Kurrus also opposed Oliva's position.

"Mr. Oliva is clear when he adopts the party line to abolish the U.S. Department of Education," Kurrus said. "He is also quick to add that he wants to continue to receive millions of dollars in federal money, most of which is now directed toward students of greatest need."

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Kurrus also tied federal funding to the Arkansas LEARNS Act and its voucher program.

"Arkansas is going to need a lot of new money to fund its voucher program, which so far is primarily subsiding the tuition paid by families who were already enrolled in private or church schools," he said.