More Than 60 School Board Members Oppose DeVos Appointment
Members warn DeVos poses a grave threat to public schools
02.01.2017
NEW YORK – In a show of force against the appointment of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education, more than 60 school board members from 15 states sent an open letter today to the chairs of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP). The letter was organized by Local Progress, a network of hundreds of local elected officials from around the country committed to a strong economy, equal justice, livable cities, and effective government.
“Betsy DeVos' track record is one of failing to improve education for children while adding tremendous costs and harm to taxpayers,” the members write in the letter. “We are leaders who know the power of school transformation; we are parents and school board members whose towns and cities are ready to build the schools we need. We urge all our U.S. senators to vigorously oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be the United States Secretary of Education.”
A number of school boards in DeVos’ home state of Michigan, including Ann Arbor and East Lansing, have already passed resolutions opposing her appointment. DeVos has been lambasted for depressing the quality of schools in Michigan and blocking legislative attempts to introduce accountability controls on charter schools.
The HELP Committee is expected to vote on DeVos’s nomination tomorrow. Her nomination then goes to the full Senate for final confirmation.
Sarah Johnson, Co-Executive Director of Local Progress, released a statement in conjunction with the letter:
“Senators would do well to listen to school board members who understand the grave threat Betsy DeVos poses to our public schools. DeVos appears to lack a working knowledge of how our education system works and is unqualified to lead a department that is so critical to the future of our country. Our students deserve better.”
Will Pinkston, Member of the Nashville School Board, also released a statement:
"As members of local school boards, we are on the front lines of education and know what we need to make our schools better. Betsy DeVos is emphatically not it. DeVos has opposed any moves to make sure charter schools are held accountable and promoted an ideological right-wing agenda that is at odds with the spirit of openness that defines our educational system. Her appointment would roll back decades of progress and leave students and teachers worse off."
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Local Progress is a network of progressive local elected officials from around the country united by our shared commitment to equal justice under law, shared prosperity, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest. Local Progress is staffed by the Center for Popular Democracy.
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.
Media Contact:
Asya Pikovsky, apikovsky@populardemocracy.org, 207-522-2442
