Great Barrington — For the past month, Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler has traveled across the state on behalf of the Healey-Driscoll administration as part of the “Higher Education Financial Aid Road Show.”
Tutwiler has traveled to various high schools in the state, including stops in Lynn, Harwich, and Athol. At each stop, Tutwiler has encouraged high school students to apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and other assistance programs to receive financial help for attending college.
On Thursday, March 6, Tutwiler stopped by Monument Mountain Regional High School, his sixth stop on his eight-school tour, to speak with students about the importance of FAFSA and state aid.
Over 40 students gathered at the library to hear Tutwiler’s talk.
“As a former history teacher, the last thing that I’m going to do is stand here and talk at you for 45 to 50 minutes,” Tutwiler told the students at the beginning of the event. “The real experts in the room are you, all of you. I’m hoping to learn from you, and I’m going to talk about financial aid in the context that you are all in right now.”
Tutwiler talked to the students about FAFSA and educational options including community and state colleges. “No matter whether you are going to school in Massachusetts or anywhere in the country, FAFSA is the one form you must fill out,” Tutwiler said. “But last year, only 51 percent of graduates filled that form out, which means that there is a whole lot of money that’s getting left on the table, and a whole lot of opportunity that is not being seized. Would it surprise you to know that financial aid [for college students] has doubled in Massachusetts over the past few years? You have a governor who is deeply committed to allowing anyone to have access to higher education and removing as many barriers as possible.”
Tutwiler took questions from students during the meeting, with one asking how the potential closing of the U.S. Department of Education would affect the FAFSA program. (The U.S. Department of Education operates the FAFSA program which distributes billions of dollars in student loan aid each year.) In recent weeks since his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump has announced plans to dismantle and close the department, which was founded in 1979 through bipartisan legislation in Congress.
In a letter posted to the department’s website on March 3, newly installed U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote that she fully intends to dismantle the department, falling in line with President Trump’s intentions:
As you are all aware, President Trump nominated me to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families. My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.
American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better.
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. He has also been focused on eliminating waste, red tape, and harmful programs in the federal government. 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.
During March 6 event, the student asked Tutwiler, “Will everything be alright? Am I going to get thrown up the creek without a paddle if the department’s dismantled?”
In response, Tutwiler tried to be reassuring. “I don’t have any authority beyond Massachusetts; however, a lot of the signals, messages, and executive orders that have been coming from [the Trump administration] is that they have all not been backed by the rule of law,” Tutwiler said. “Anything having to do with money, whether it’s a grant program or financial aid, is promulgated by Congress. The executive office cannot cut these things without an act of Congress. The messages and moves [from the Trump administration] that we have seen in recent weeks certainly put fear in a lot of people.”
Tutwiler went on to encourage students to apply for FAFSA despite the current political firestorm surrounding the Department of Education. “I have been asked if it is safe [to apply for FAFSA], and I’m here to tell you that many of those things [the Trump administration] has attempted to do have been stopped,” Tutwiler said. “I feel confident that, if you complete FAFSA, you will be awarded money. I can’t control if Congress changes its mindset about it, but that requires a process.”
However, while Tutwiler was reassuring to students attending the event about applying for FAFSA aid, in an interview after the event with The Berkshire Edge, he admitted that he was worried about the potential dismantling of the Department of Education. “I am absolutely worried because, in my humble opinion, the foremost priority and responsibility should be ensuring the rights and protections of our most vulnerable students nationwide,” Tutwiler said. “Based on the moves that Attorney General [Andrea Joy Campbell] has already made to ensure that rights and funding streams are protected, along with the law being upheld [despite President Trump’s executive orders], I would assume that there would be a legal pushback should [the administration] attempt to dismantle the Department of Education, along with any attempts to roll back money from the state.”
