JACKSON — Wyoming Democrats on Friday criticized U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon after her trip to a Jackson-area school, where she championed state control of schools and a diminished federal role in overseeing education.
The secretary visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday as part of a 50-state tour to promote the Trump administration’s view that education oversight should be turned back to the states.
Her visit appeared to ruffle some feathers among state Democrats, who told Cowboy State Daily they were frustrated by several points McMahon made during her visit to Wyoming.
Tone Deaf
McMahon during her tour capitalized on state improvements in standardized test scores, for which she said her department could not take credit. This, she claimed, was due to decisions and educational improvements made by local and state jurisdictions.
“You look at the states that have been so successful raising their scores … that’s not because of anything that is done at the federal level,” McMahon. “That’s because of what’s done at the state level.”
Gov. Mark Gordon, who was also in Jackson Thursday with the secretary, echoed those comments, adding that “when you get a national prescription that may have been for a place like New York City, it’s hard to apply here in Wyoming.”
State Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that their remarks sound tone deaf because of McMahon’s decision to tour a private Christian school, which is not held to the public school standards.
“The classical academy isn’t required to take the tests that Secretary McMahon talks about when referring to test scores,” he wrote via text message.
The secretary’s comments, he added, prove her department should continue to play a role in managing K-12 schools at a federal level.
“I think there are plenty of families that want a private school education, and I’m happy for them to do that, but I think when we’re talking about test scores, that's reflective of how well our public education system works,” Yin said.
Yin added that he was glad to see the Trump administration pay a visit to his district but said he wanted to see them pay attention to other schools that may not have the same level of success as Jackson Hole Classical Academy.
“I’d also love to see them visit Powell and Thermopolis and Sheridan, and I’m sure the school districts there would love to see the secretary as well,” he added.
Savannah Newhouse, a spokesperson for McMahon, said Yin's criticism was off base.
"Returning education to the states doesn’t mean dismantling public schools or ending federal support — and anyone claiming otherwise is defending the bloated bureaucracy that has failed our students for decades," Newhouse wrote in an email Friday. "President Trump and Secretary McMahon are focused on empowering families and giving students the freedom to learn in the environments that suit them best. That’s why the Secretary is committed to exploring a variety of education models and gathering best practices throughout her 50-state tour.
"If the Department of Education functions merely as a funding pass-through, it raises an important question: Why should it exist only to add red tape and regulatory hurdles to those dollars?"
Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder was unavailable to comment Friday, but she’s been a staunch supporter of clawing back federal regulation of state education.
She was at the White House in March when Trump signed his executive order about the U.S. Department of Education.
“It’s just a truly momentous and historic day for education in America, and it’s a win for American students,” Degenfelder told Cowboy State Daily at the time. “We’re taking out the middleman in education, putting education back where it belongs — in the classroom and not in D.C. offices.”
Degenfelder has long voiced hopes that the federal government will still channel necessary money to state education systems through block grants, without “red tape and bureaucracy.”
State Dems Respond
The Wyoming Democratic Party also told Cowboy State Daily the secretary’s choice of schools appeared to be a cherry-picked example that does not reflect the experience of a majority of state students.
"It is revealing that while celebrating the strength of Wyoming’s schools, Linda McMahon and Megan Degenfelder chose to visit a charter school — even though only 1% of Wyoming students attend one,” party spokesperson Mandy Weaver wrote in an email. “The truth is, Wyoming students outperform the national average because of the excellent education 97% of them receive in our public schools, not in charter or home schools.”
A standard of excellence is embedded in the Wyoming Constitution, in the mandate for a “complete and uniform” education system. A judge this spring said that mandate requires an extensive upgrade of various resources throughout Wyoming public schools.
The same judge, District Court Judge Peter Froelicher, ruled this summer that a new state school-choice program is likely unconstitutional; and blocked it from going into effect while public-school advocates challenge it in court.
Weaver also addressed the secretary’s nationwide tour, arguing the move appears largely for show. This, she added, may indicate the secretary appears not to grasp the full authority of the Department of Education.
“It is troubling that the U.S. Secretary of Education is touring the country claiming that education is being ‘returned to the states,’ when states and local school boards have always had control over it — the federal government simply provides funding and support,” Weaver added. “Either she doesn’t know what the Department of Education actually does, or she is lying to the American people in an effort to advance the ongoing push to dismantle public education.”
“It is disappointing, but not surprising, that Wyoming's worst Superintendent of Public Instruction in recent memory is helping her do it,” she added, referring to Degenfelder.
McMahon on Thursday refuted claims she is working with the Trump administration to “dismantle” the department. She instead claimed her efforts are simply to break down a convoluted web of red tape restricting states from having more control.
“First of all, I want to get back to this notion that you keep saying the word ‘dismantled,’” she told Cowboy State Daily. “I keep saying returning education to the states and getting rid of the bureaucracy of education.”
State Democrats expressed open criticism with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon after she visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday. They argued the visit appeared to cherry pick one high-achieving outlier that does not represent Wyoming education as a whole. (U.S. Department of Education) State Democrats expressed open criticism with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon after she visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday. They argued the visit appeared to cherry pick one high-achieving outlier that does not represent Wyoming education as a whole. (U.S. Department of Education) 
State Democrats expressed open criticism with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon after she visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday. They argued the visit appeared to cherry pick one high-achieving outlier that does not represent Wyoming education as a whole. (U.S. Department of Education) 
State Democrats expressed open criticism with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon after she visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday. They argued the visit appeared to cherry pick one high-achieving outlier that does not represent Wyoming education as a whole. (U.S. Department of Education) 
State Democrats expressed open criticism with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon after she visited Jackson Hole Classical Academy on Thursday. They argued the visit appeared to cherry pick one high-achieving outlier that does not represent Wyoming education as a whole. (U.S. Department of Education)
Education Battleground
Wyoming continues to be a battle ground for state education rights as the Trump administration works to limit the power of the federal Department of Education.
Gordon in July argued federal “talking heads” have too much involvement in what happens in local schools.
“Very little of (what’s been going on) has been about learning and what kids need to know, No. 1,” he said. “And No. 2, how do we make education work a little bit better across the country?”
Gordon earlier this year was named chairman of the Education Commission of the States, a longtime nonpartisan group that provides expertise and services to all 50 states. Acting in that role, the governor next week will convene a meeting of education leaders to kickoff his Community Hubs for Addressing Needs for Greater Education.
That initiative will “provide a framework for engaging key community members in establishing a local vision for education” while identifying “state policy levers to support local solutions, capacity building and implementation for state policymakers.,” according to a release from the governor’s office.
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
