It’s a campaign promise made by now-president Donald Trump on his path to the White House. “I’m going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the States, and we’re going to do it fast," he declared.

But what exactly that means for a U.S. territory like Guam remains unclear. Freshman senator Vince Borja, oversight chair on education, sharing his insight on the matter. “The understanding from the trump campaign and some of the close advisors and the caucus in D.C.---the Republicans, our understanding with what Trump was trying to do was just remove the federal bureaucracy with the management of USDOE," said the senator.

Guam Education Board chair Angel Sablan is also weighing in, noting, “We don’t know what the impacts would be yet–but we understand that if the US Department of Education is out, the funding mechanisms would be put out to the states and territories on their own levels. I'm sure this would truly affect our own local department of education. The superintendent and his team are on top of it; they’re trying to get as much information as they can on it–and we’ll go from there.”

Meanwhile, concerns are rising over how this move might jeopardize targeted funding for marginalized students. To note, the federal Department of Education currently provides public funding for K-12 schools, special education, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

Senator Borja continued, “My understanding from the congressman’s office is that it really just takes away that middle person in how funds get to Guam for DOE. So, we’re expecting that everything will come from the treasury and then be handled at the States."

“Like all the other federal things, it’ll just come to the governor's office or directly to GDOE.”

Borja points out that this change could be both positive and negative for GDOE. In 2023, GDOE ended its third-party fiduciary agent, a step taken after it was designated high-risk due to concerns about its management of USDOE grants.

“There is going to be concern, and I’m sure we have to re-visit how we manage federal funds locally—this is really going to put the responsibility on us," he shared.

As the details continue to unfold, Borja says he’s working to gain more clarity through ongoing financial meetings with GDOE.