Dandeneau: Why I'm Worried About Gov. Scott's Pick for Secretary of Education
, on Apr 02, 2024
A little over a week ago, Phil Scott finally made his choice for the new Secretary of Education. More than a full year since Dan French announced his departure, Phil Scott announced he’d chosen Zoie Saunders to be the next head of Vermont’s school systems.
He issued a press release implying that Saunders’ detractors were discriminating against her because she was from Florida and that opposing her is somehow misogynistic. Side note: the idea that the guy who ran the bobblehead ads against Sue Minter or the one who claimed he had to be the “adult in the room” for budget negotiations when all the people involved in those budget negotiations at the time were women is so rich that Phil Scott wants to cut its taxes. “Every Republican accusation is a confession” is a truism for a reason, I guess.
No one is upset that his choice for Secretary of Education is from Florida. They’re concerned because of what she was doing while she was down there.
Privatizing public schools has been tried quite a bit across the country and spoilers: it’s bad. Charter schools do whatever they can to NOT educate kids with special needs, have horrible disciplinary records, and displace public schools. Just about the only things they do well are cherry pick for natural high achievers, and line the pockets of their board members.
To me, as the parent of a kid who just started public school, what we Vermonters value most about our schools is the community they provide. Public schools provide crucial support for students and their families as we try and navigate these crucially important years in our kids’ lives. I don’t know if we would be getting that same support if my school was more focused on turning a profit than educating our kids.
This is the start of a long process, and I have a lot of faith in our Democratic Senators to conduct a thorough nomination process. I’m looking forward to it, in fact - because my kids are just starting their public school journey, and I’m hoping that it continues uninterrupted for as long as they want it.
Jim Dandeneu
Executive Director, Vermont Democratic Party
Saunders’ nomination caused quite an uproar because, according to her resume, her only school system experience was spending a couple of weeks pitching a bunch of school closures in Fort Lauderdale while she was interviewing in Vermont. Before that, she was the head of strategy for Charter Schools USA, a for profit charter network in Florida with a questionable reputation. From Alison Novak’s most recent piece on Seven Days:
The company has come under fire in recent years for its donations to political candidates, its use of uncertified teachers, and the way in which it enriches itself through a related real estate company run by the CEO of Charter Schools USA that finances and develops schools.So we raised some concerns. David, our Chair, said (again in Seven Days)
"It appears that her only education experience has been as an executive in a for-profit charter school company in Florida, a state that leads the country in gutting their public schools to enrich private businesses," Glidden wrote. "Vermont’s public schools are at a transition point, and I sincerely hope that Saunders’ appointment isn’t an indication that Phil Scott plans to take a page from Florida and harm our public schools.”Apparently this made Phil Scott very angry.
He issued a press release implying that Saunders’ detractors were discriminating against her because she was from Florida and that opposing her is somehow misogynistic. Side note: the idea that the guy who ran the bobblehead ads against Sue Minter or the one who claimed he had to be the “adult in the room” for budget negotiations when all the people involved in those budget negotiations at the time were women is so rich that Phil Scott wants to cut its taxes. “Every Republican accusation is a confession” is a truism for a reason, I guess.
No one is upset that his choice for Secretary of Education is from Florida. They’re concerned because of what she was doing while she was down there.
Privatizing public schools has been tried quite a bit across the country and spoilers: it’s bad. Charter schools do whatever they can to NOT educate kids with special needs, have horrible disciplinary records, and displace public schools. Just about the only things they do well are cherry pick for natural high achievers, and line the pockets of their board members.
To me, as the parent of a kid who just started public school, what we Vermonters value most about our schools is the community they provide. Public schools provide crucial support for students and their families as we try and navigate these crucially important years in our kids’ lives. I don’t know if we would be getting that same support if my school was more focused on turning a profit than educating our kids.
This is the start of a long process, and I have a lot of faith in our Democratic Senators to conduct a thorough nomination process. I’m looking forward to it, in fact - because my kids are just starting their public school journey, and I’m hoping that it continues uninterrupted for as long as they want it.
Jim Dandeneu
Executive Director, Vermont Democratic Party