Zoe Sanders, Gov. Phil Scott's second choice to head the Vermont Education Agency, appeared at her confirmation hearing Tuesday and defended her record before a panel of state senators.
Sanders, a former strategist for a Florida-based for-profit charter school company, has been criticized for his lack of experience in traditional public schools. During her 90-minute question-and-answer session with the Senate Education Committee, she repeated the same words over and over again.
“My experience is in public schools. I mean, charter schools are public schools in every state I've worked in, they're not independent schools. They're not private schools,” she told lawmakers.
Tuition-free schools, or charter schools, are publicly funded but independently operated. For-profit organizations called education management organizations, such as Charter Schools USA, where Sanders worked from 2012 to 2019, are sometimes contracted to manage day-to-day operations, including curriculum development and hiring educators.
Charter school advocates, like Mr. Sanders, often say that charter schools are public. But this argument is rejected by public education advocates, who argue that the point of the Charter is to introduce privatization into the public sphere. In fact, hours before Sanders' confirmation hearing, a group of former school board members held a press conference at the state Capitol to protest her appointment.
“[Saunders] …Charter schools say they are public schools, but they are not. Because they are privately governed. I know that money is public money, but it's privately managed,” said Geo Honigford, former South Royalton school board member and former president of the Vermont Board of Education. Ta.
Sanders officially began work as Vermont's education secretary last week, but her job requires Senate confirmation. And while Congress has traditionally held the executive branch in high regard, a significant number of senators have made it clear they will vote against her permanent appointment.
“The general idea is that elections have consequences and that the governor can choose his cabinet,” said Democratic Sen. Phil Balse of Chittenden County. But he added that it was also the Senate's role to “advise and agree.”
“When you think about that, it implies that you don't always agree. If you don't, there's no need to mention consent in the first place,” said Mr. Barrous, who leads the chamber as speaker pro tempore.
Baruth said Tuesday he has not yet decided which way he will vote. He said Senate Democratic leaders have not taken a position on whether Sanders should be confirmed, but rather are letting the process run its course.
The reaction to Sanders has put Republican Scott on the defensive. A week after announcing his selection, the governor issued a statement accusing lawmakers of “believing false information, making assumptions, and committing attacks.” [Saunders’] The character has never met or spoken to her. He wrote that the backlash to her appointment appears to be “based on her current state of residence and the boogeymanization of select parts of her resume.”
“Frankly, smart and highly capable professional women who have dedicated their careers to improving outcomes for children and addressing inequalities in poor communities and families are being demonized. I am ashamed of the message,” he added.
But lawmakers critical of Scott's selection say their concerns have nothing to do with her gender or where she's from. Sen. Tanya Vyhovski, a progressive from Chittenden County, suggested as much in a recent op-ed that suggested as much “taken straight from the D.C. Republican Party playbook” and that “the candidate's deep understanding of the Democratic leadership… It is intended to distract from the experience.” “This is a for-profit charter school company that siphones public education funds from students and funnels them into the pockets of their shareholders.”
Mr. Scott has made it clear he has no interest in bringing charter schools to Vermont, and Mr. Sanders reiterated the same on Tuesday. But critics argue that their concerns are not about charter schools per se, but rather that her appointment signals the administration's plans for school choice in Vermont.
The ever-challenged relationship between Vermont's public and private schools has never been more rocky. Public education officials have long pushed the state to enact stricter requirements for private schools that receive taxpayer funding through the state's in-town tuition program. However, a series of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions include Carson vs Makinis currently requiring states to allow religious schools to participate in the voucher system.
This has led some to argue that private school choice should be completely abolished unless states can enact stronger guardrails, but lawmakers, especially the Senate, have shown no appetite for such a move.
Asked by Democratic Sen. Martine Gulick whether private schools that receive public funding should be subject to the same rules as public schools, Sanders said they should take the same standardized tests. .
Gulick, the Burlington school board member, returned to the question a few minutes later, asking whether private schools should follow other regulations imposed on public schools. Sanders responded that more research was needed.
“That's probably a more nuanced question than I can answer at this point, because I haven't had the opportunity to make that comparison yet,” Sanders said.
But when asked about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempts to bring the culture war into the classroom, Mr. Sanders was unequivocal, even if he sometimes answered in a roundabout way.
“I'm not taking anything like that,” she told senators.
The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to make a recommendation Wednesday. A vote by the full Senate is currently scheduled for next week.
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