The Vermont Senate Education Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on April 23 for Zoe Sanders, Governor Phil Scott's nominee for Secretary of Education.
The committee's chairman, Sen. Brian Campion (D-Bennington), initially considered holding the hearing next week, when Sanders is scheduled to begin his work. But Campion said in an interview Thursday that the administration had requested that the hearing be scheduled for a week later.
“It seemed a little ambitious for her to arrive and have a hearing the next day,” Campion told VTDigger. “She seems pretty receptive, I don't know, to giving her a little more time to give her a chance to meet people and talk to people.”
Mr. Sanders' appointment has drawn “grave concerns” from Vermont Democrats and outright opposition from the state Progressive Party since Mr. Scott announced his appointment last month.
Some senators, state teachers unions, groups representing superintendents, principals and school boards have questioned her qualifications, many of them as leaders of the for-profit education management company Charter Schools USA. He points out his experience.
In her most recent job, where she spent about three months as chief strategy and innovation officer for Broward County Public Schools in Florida, Sanders led a school closure and consolidation effort the district called “Redefining.”
As with other high-level appointees, Sanders' confirmation requires approval by a majority of senators.
The Senate Education Committee hearing on April 23 is expected to last about an hour and a half, Campion said. Committee members will then draft a report in public, the format of which remains open for public debate, and will be submitted to the Senate, he said.
Campion said it would be up to Senate President pro tempore Phil Barth, D-Chittenden, to decide when to bring Sanders' nomination to the Senate floor.
Meanwhile, Sanders, who spent part of this week shaking hands at the state Capitol, will have more time to get to know those responsible for the confirmation.
“My guess is she's probably having individual meetings with, I don't know, 30% of the senators,” Campion said.
These closed-door meetings are an opportunity for lawmakers to get acquainted with Mr. Sanders ahead of his hearing in a little more than a week.
Asked why the administration had asked for the approval to be delayed, Jason Maulucci, the governor's spokesman, said Sanders was “already making plans” for the first week, including visiting schools and meeting with the Education Department. Stated.
He pointed out that some gubernatorial appointments go unnoticed by the Senate for months, or even throughout the session. It will be significantly accelerated.”
Maulucci said Saunders plans to stay in Shrewsbury with his family. Her family plans to move to Vermont after her two children finish the school year.
Senate Secretary John Bloomer said in an interview that it is standard practice for a governor's appointee to begin work on an effective date that has never been confirmed.
“It’s been done for decades and decades,” he said.
Bloomer also pointed out that people appointed to positions while Congress is in session typically begin work upon appointment, and then the Senate confirms them in January. But in some cases, he said, the Senate chooses not to accept confirmation at all and the appointee still continues in the role.
Bloomer said the last time a gubernatorial appointee was rejected in the Senate was under former Gov. Howard Dean's administration, which ended more than 20 years ago. However, in that case, three people would be appointed to positions on the Environment Committee. He could not recall any head of a state agency whose appointment was rejected by the Senate.