{"id":4687,"date":"2025-03-04T21:31:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T21:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?p=4687"},"modified":"2025-03-04T06:36:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T06:36:40","slug":"department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"w-full text-token-text-primary focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-[-4px]\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-5\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"m-auto text-base py-[18px] px-6\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto flex flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 md:max-w-3xl\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn @xs\/thread:px-0 @sm\/thread:px-1.5 @md\/thread:px-4\">\n<div class=\"flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"ecdd89b8-ecea-4d76-b2d1-8a7a85cee237\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o-mini\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p data-start=\"104\" data-end=\"404\">Enid, OK &#8211; The U.S. Department of Education has extended an offer to its employees, promising a $25,000 cash payout for those who voluntarily resign by midnight Monday. The announcement, which was sent out via email on Friday, comes as part of a broader plan for significant staff reductions within the agency.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"406\" data-end=\"944\">Jacqueline Clay, the Department\u2019s Chief Human Capital Officer, confirmed the email to <em data-start=\"492\" data-end=\"502\">The Hill<\/em>, acknowledging the payout offer and warning of an imminent \u201cReduction in Force\u201d (RIF). The offer stipulates that employees who decide to leave by the deadline will receive a one-time payment, though certain conditions apply. Employees who have been with the department for fewer than three years, as well as those who have received recent bonuses or other benefits, such as student loan repayment assistance, are not eligible for the payout.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"946\" data-end=\"1176\">\u201cThis is a one-time offer in advance of a very significant Reduction in Force for the U.S. Department of Education,\u201d Clay said in the email. The department did not disclose how many staffers had accepted the offer by the deadline.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1178\" data-end=\"1798\">The move is seen as part of a larger set of budget cuts and restructuring efforts that have already included placing dozens of employees on administrative leave. Additionally, the department has canceled nearly $1 billion worth of contracts. These actions coincide with the confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for Education Secretary. In her testimony, McMahon expressed support for reducing the size and scope of the Department of Education, aligning with President Trump\u2019s broader goal to dismantle federal bureaucracies and shift educational responsibilities to state governments.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1800\" data-end=\"2099\">While the department&#8217;s complete elimination would require an act of Congress, the ongoing efforts signal that significant changes are on the horizon. Some experts speculate that the agency could face further downsizing or even complete closure in the future, although that outcome remains uncertain.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2101\" data-end=\"2302\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The offer for employees to accept a cash payout marks the latest step in a contentious push to overhaul the Education Department, with potential implications for the future of federal education policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-2 flex gap-3 -ml-2\">\n<div class=\"items-center justify-start rounded-xl p-1 flex\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-3 w-full empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"text-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none h-px w-px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-edge=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enid, OK &#8211; The U.S. Department of Education has extended an offer to its employees, promising a $25,000 cash payout for those who voluntarily resign by midnight Monday. The announcement, which was sent out via email on Friday, comes as part of a broader plan for significant staff reductions within the agency. Jacqueline Clay, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4687","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enid, OK &#8211; The U.S. Department of Education has extended an offer to its employees, promising a $25,000 cash payout for those who voluntarily resign by midnight Monday. The announcement, which was sent out via email on Friday, comes as part of a broader plan for significant staff reductions within the agency. Jacqueline Clay, the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Enid Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-04T21:31:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Viktor Cross\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Viktor Cross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/\",\"name\":\"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-04T21:31:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg\",\"width\":850,\"height\":477},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/\",\"name\":\"Enid Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c\",\"name\":\"Viktor Cross\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Viktor Cross\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/author\/viktor-cross\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post","og_description":"Enid, OK &#8211; The U.S. Department of Education has extended an offer to its employees, promising a $25,000 cash payout for those who voluntarily resign by midnight Monday. The announcement, which was sent out via email on Friday, comes as part of a broader plan for significant staff reductions within the agency. Jacqueline Clay, the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/","og_site_name":"Enid Post","article_published_time":"2025-03-04T21:31:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":850,"height":477,"url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Viktor Cross","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Viktor Cross","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/","name":"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts - Enid Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-04T21:31:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/okokok4.jpg","width":850,"height":477},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/department-of-education-offers-25000-payout-to-employees-willing-to-quit-amid-downsizing-efforts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Department of Education Offers $25,000 Payout to Employees Willing to Quit Amid Downsizing Efforts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/","name":"Enid Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c","name":"Viktor Cross","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Viktor Cross"},"url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/author\/viktor-cross\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4695,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4687\/revisions\/4695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}