JC Bowman, founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said he believes that the Tennessee Department of Education is “ill-equipped” to handle billions in funds that the federal government would presumably distribute under the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” which directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”
While he agrees with dismantling the “bureaucratic” Department of Education, Bowman said it would not be a good idea to direct all of the funds that would be distributed to states upon the closure of the federal department to the Tennessee Department of Education.
“They’re ill-equipped to handle it right now…They still work remotely at the Tennessee Department of Education. They are not in the office. They are not over at their building, and I’m not sure they’re equipped to handle it,” Bowman warned on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“I’m not certain we’re capable of handling, although, in a perfect world, it would be ideal,” Bowman added.
Bowman further pointed out that personnel at the Tennessee Department of Education will begin to leave their posts upon the Lee administration’s exit with the 2026 gubernatorial race, which he said he believes would set up for disaster as the state would be at the height of taking in excessive funds from the federal government.
“I’m not sure they have the leadership available to handle it, particularly in the second term of a governor’s administration. This isn’t a new shock to anyone. They’re going to start bailing. Good people will start leaving and finding their next job in the private sector and leaving as soon as they get the opportunity. So you’re going to be left over there at the height of bringing money in, you’re gonna have people exiting there who are capable, and even the most capable people will eventually start filtering out and leaving,” Bowman said.
Bowman floated the idea of federal funds being distributed directly to fiscally responsible school districts.
“You may look at some school districts that may be capable of directly sending that money directly to the LEAs. Some LEAs could do it, some couldn’t. I would argue that there’s some, like Wilson County, Rutherford County, Bradley County, some of those that have great track records with fiscal backgrounds and have administrations that have demonstrated capabilities may be more effective in sending the money and bypassing the state altogether,” Bowman said.
When it comes to the dismantling of the federal education department, Bowman said he is most concerned about the future of three specific programs that were administered at the Department of Education.
“I’ve always been concerned about special ed, I’ve always been concerned about Title I, and I’ve always been concerned about free and reduced lunch…Two of the three programs, the president has actually made efforts to move over into Department of Health and Human Services, special education and the nutrition programs – which by the way, is currently housed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture – which I think is probably a smart move,” Bowman said.
“I would make sure that the Title I money is not cut off, and I would [advise the Trump administration] to put that transition plan out immediately,” Bowman added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
