Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday accused lawmakers of unfairly attacking Zoe Sanders, his choice to be Vermont's next education secretary, amid growing opposition from political parties and the state teachers union to his nomination. .
At a press conference last Friday, Scott announced his selection of Sanders, the Florida school administrator, as chief strategy and innovation officer for Broward County Public Schools, the nation's sixth-largest school district. He praised her work experience. She has been in the position for less than three months. She was not yet an employee of Broward County Public Schools when the State Board of Education recommended her and two other candidates for education secretary to the governor on Nov. 15.
“I was disappointed to see so many people in and around the state capitol.” [sic] “Spreading and believing false information, making assumptions, and attacking her character were all done without ever having met or spoken to her,” Scott said in a written statement. said in a statement. Selected sections of her resume have become a boogeyman, refusing to understand the value her work and her experience bring to Vermont's children and schools. ”
Scott said it was “embarrassing” that Sanders was being “demonized”, adding: “She is.”“Strategic Leadership Experience” was “exactly what we needed right now” to address significant cost challenges in Vermont schools.
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Sanders did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Senate President pro tempore Phil Barth (D/Chittenden) said he found Scott's comments “strange” because no member of Congress he knows has issued a statement opposing Sanders.
“I think he's picking up on the early chatter about her nomination,” Baruth said. “Once we publish a candidate’s name, people start talking about him and that’s part of the advice and consent process.”
Under state law, Sanders must go through a confirmation process that includes a meeting with the Senate Education Committee and a vote by the full Senate. Baruth said the committee plans to meet with Sanders on April 15, the same day Scott said he will begin his job as education secretary.
Ballous said he asked the committee chairman, Sen. Brian Campion (D-Bennington), to prepare a report for all 30 senators after that meeting. If 16 senators vote against Sanders' confirmation, he will no longer be able to serve as Secretary of Education.
“The number one thing in my mind is to ensure a clean process for this nomination, with 30 senators ultimately considering and voting on what's in front of them. That's going to happen,” Baruth said.
The Vermont Democratic Progressive Party and the Vermont NEA have criticized the governor's selection. They focus not on Sanders' connections to Florida, but on her lack of public school experience and her years of work as a representative for a for-profit charter school company.
“Many people not normally involved in state politics have expressed deep concern about what Phil Scott's appointment to lead the private, for-profit charter school leadership of Vermont's education system means for the future. We hear you are doing it for our schools and our students,” Vermont Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Dandenau said in a statement Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Progressive Party of Vermont criticized Sanders' appointment in a statement, saying:Her background in for-profit charter schools and her three-month tenure with Broward County Public Schools in Florida have raised serious questions about her suitability for the role, and the statement said, “Mr. Sanders' appointment… “This is consistent with Governor Scott's policy of defunding the public education system.” And she called on Vermonters to “advocate for leadership that truly prioritizes the needs of all students and the vitality of our public schools.”
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Vermont NEA President Don Tinney also voiced his displeasure Wednesday, saying in a statement that he had enjoyed his meeting with Sanders earlier this week, but said in a statement:“Our members have serious concerns about her experience promoting private, for-profit charter schools.”
Tinney did not always agree with Vermont's last education secretary, Dan French, but said, “I worked with him as a classroom teacher, principal, and superintendent before he was appointed secretary of education.'' I respected the fact that he was.”
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Sanders currently serves as Broward County Public Schools' chief strategy and innovation officer, leading efforts to close or repurpose schools as student enrollment declines. She has been in the position since January.
After earning a master's degree in education from Vanderbilt University in 2012, Sanders spent nearly seven years working as a strategist at Charter Schools USA, one of the nation's largest for-profit charter school operators. Charter schools are publicly funded, tuition-free schools operated by nonprofit boards of directors and are therefore exempt from the requirements that traditional public schools must follow.
Charter Schools USA is one of the nation's largest education management organizations (EMOs). EMO is a for-profit organization that contracts with and operates charter schools. Charter Schools USA operates more than 90 schools in Florida and other southern states.
The company has come under fire in recent years for its contributions to political candidates, its use of uncertified teachers, and the way it lines its own pockets by funding and developing schools through an affiliated real estate company run by the CEO of Charter Schools USA. ing.
Following his tenure at Charter Schools USA, Mr. Sanders served as Chief Education Officer for the City of Fort Lauderdale from 2019 to 2023. According to the job description posted by the city, the newly created position was aimed at strengthening youth and education.to adults and dBuild “strong partnerships and communication with educational institutions.” Public, private, charter, and parochial schools. She has never worked as a teacher, principal, or superintendent.
Messages appeared on several Front Porch forums around the state urging local residents to contact their legislators and tell them that Sanders doesn't belong in Vermont.
“Many of us oppose the ideology of siphoning public funds to private organizations without accountability or transparency to taxpayers. “I also oppose tax dollars funding private schools,” the poster said. This book was written by Lisa Talmadge, a retired school nurse. She lives in Norwich, grew up in Florida and attended Catholic schools there.
“I remember being a gay kid and saying I wasn't good enough,” Talmadge said. She moved to Vermont in 2000 to legalize civil unions.
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Talmadge is concerned that the governor's decision to appoint Sanders at a difficult time for public education signals that public school closures and consolidation are on the horizon. She thinks schools will become more independent and move toward privatization.
“This is not Vermont,” Talmadge said in an interview. “That's not what we need.”