U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is visiting Renaissance High School in Detroit on Monday, raising alarms among teachers who say the Trump administration’s education agenda threatens the future of public schools.
McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive whom President Donald Trump tasked with dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, is on a 50-state “Returning Education to the States Tour.” Since August, she has been on the road promoting “school choice” and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, often spotlighting charter schools.
During her tour in Oklahoma in August, McMahon joined Gov. Kevin Stitt for an anti-DEI bill signing.
“That same commitment to students is reflected in the state’s new law ending DEI mandates — ensuring education is grounded in merit, not radical ideology,” McMahon said. “It was encouraging to be in the Sooner State to support this important step toward state-driven education reform.”
Joining McMahon at Renaissance High School at about 2 p.m. is Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican whose refusal to pass a budget has left schools statewide facing layoffs and uncertainty.
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McMahon’s stop at Renaissance High School was not announced to the public, unlike her openly publicized appearances at Hillsdale College and a Republican Party barbecue in Midland later Monday. That’s likely no accident because some of her visits have drawn protests from parents concerned about her plans to eradicate the department, cut federal education spending, and roll back civil rights enforcement.
“The superintendent just made the board aware that there was a request for a visit but I’m not sure what is supposed to take place other than a tour,” Detroit Public Schools Community District school board member Monique Bryant tells Metro Times. “We are all pretty much in agreement that it was worth approving the visit and moving forward.”
She adds, “We’re all hoping there’s just an interest in touring some of the great schools we have in the district. But as a board member, I have my concerns, and like all the teachers and administrators, I am very cautious.”
Board member Bishop Corletta Vaughn says the district vetted the visit carefully.
“We had concerns when the invitation came,” Vaughn says. “It was thoroughly vetted to make sure it was benign and that there is nothing egregious taking place under the table. There is nothing we have been able to vet that has caused alarm. We have a strong team there in case something goes awry.”
Teachers in the district were less diplomatic. Two educators who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation say they are frustrated that McMahon was being welcomed with open arms.
“We’re all really concerned about what she’s doing here,” one teacher tells Metro Times. “No one has said anything to us, other than she’s coming.”
Another teacher was more blunt: “It’s a slap in the face to public school teachers. Why would you accept an invitation from someone who wants to destroy schools? It’s offensive and demeaning.”
McMahon’s visit comes as the Trump administration pushes to slash billions from public education, while converting federal funds into block grants that critics say will weaken protections for low-income and special education students. The administration has already frozen and unfrozen $6 billion in K-12 funding and in March announced layoffs of nearly half of the Department of Education’s workforce, prompting unions and civil rights organizations to warn of devastating consequences, especially to students in lower-income districts.
Civil rights enforcement has been among the first casualties, with the department shuttering regional offices, including the one in Cleveland that handled Michigan cases. Advocates warn that in high-poverty districts like Detroit, families will face longer waits for investigations into discrimination, disability rights, and language access complaints.
The stakes are particularly high in Detroit, where public schools are losing students and resources to competing charter systems. In 2023-24, roughly 45,000 students attended Detroit Public Schools Community District, while 48,000 were enrolled in charters and another 12,000 used Schools of Choice to attend other districts.
Because funding follows students, each child who leaves DPSCD takes state dollars with them, draining a district that serves mostly low-income students.
Amid those challenges, McMahon will be accompanied by Hall, a Republican whose refusal to pass a budget has left schools statewide facing layoffs and uncertainty. Democrats have blasted Hall for holding up negotiations.
“Schools all over the state have been forced into an impossible position and are scrambling to plan for the upcoming year — all because of the inaction and implacability of one man, Republican Speaker Matt Hall,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a statement.
Also on Monday, McMahon is scheduled to appear at the Midland County Republican Party’s annual Bill Schuette Barbeque, where she’ll share the stage with GOP lawmakers and the president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank that has long attacked teachers’ unions and championed charters schools.
The campaign stop only deepens the blow for educators who see her visit as a threat to Detroit’s public schools.
It’s unclear why McMahon chose Renaissance High School, which is considered one of the best public schools in Detroit. About 44% of children in Detroit live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
