The American Spectator

In an earlier post, Patrick Ryan wondered if ICE’s release of hundreds of illegal immigrants, which they blamed on the sequester, constituted political manipulation.

Here’s one we don’t have to wonder about. On Sunday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan claimed on CBS’ Face the Nation, “There are literally teachers now who are getting pink slips, who are getting notices that they can’t come back this fall.” Why? More sequester wreckage, of course.

As the Washington Post reports today, it was flat-out not true:

Officials in Kanawha County, West Virginia say that the “transfer notices” sent to at least 104 educators had more to do with a separate matter that involves a change in the way West Virginia allocates federal dollars designated for poor children.

The transfer notices are required by state law and give teachers a warning that they may be moved to a different position next school year. They don’t necessarily mean a teacher has been laid off, said Pam Padon, director of federal programs and Title 1 for the Kanawha County public schools. “It’s not like we’re cutting people’s jobs at this point.”

She said those 104 notices will ultimately result in the elimination of about five to six teaching jobs, which were likely to be cut regardless of the sequester.

I noted earlier this week how the administration is overblowing sequester cuts to public schools. Looks like they plan to keep the hysteria train running right up until March 1.