The nomination and subsequent controversial confirmation of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education has brought the future of education policy to the forefront of the the public’s eye.
Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, a leader in the Indiana Coalition for Public Education-Monroe County, said the future of public education looks grim and said she also felt a special insult and injury when Vice President Mike Pence, a long time advocate for school choice in Indiana, delivered the historic and tie-breaking vote.
“She’s clearly someone who has no experience with public education,” Fuentes-Rohwer said. “It’s not a business, but to Betsy DeVos, it is.”
She said DeVos’ free market approach to education puts the “dollar before the child” and is no way to run public education. Rather, Fuentes-Rohwer said public education needs to be about helping students become helpful and kind members of society.
Steve Hinnefeld, a former education reporter with the Herald-Times and an education blogger, said when he received the news DeVos was confirmed in the tie-breaking vote he was disappointed.
However, he also said he was excited to see the public take an interest in education.
“When has education been the lead story?” Hinnefeld said. “It never has been.”
Hinnefeld said he is concerned with DeVos’ lack of experience in leading a school corporation and her inability to compromise across party lines.
“Competence and effectiveness are really important for someone in that position,” Hinnefeld said. “She hasn’t shown she can reach across the aisle.”
An apparent lack of competence is a recurring theme for those who question her credentials, said Gerardo Gonzalez, the dean emeritus for the IU School of Education.
Gonzalez said the fact she was confirmed in a tie-breaking vote, which was caused by two Republicans who crossed party lines, shows how controversial she is as a secretary of education.
“That speaks to the concerns of the general public, not just the Democrats,” Gonzalez said.
While he is the dean emeritus, Gonzalez is also a professor of education policy and said he is seeing a lot of these same concerns among his students. They are worried about what is going to become of public education, he said.
One of the major issues brought up during the hearings for DeVos has been the topic of school vouchers and school choice.
Hinnefeld said DeVos has indicated her support of choice programs while also attacking public school teachers, which is something he said will not endear her to the other side of the aisle.
“She has a responsibility to speak up for those who are educators,” Hinnefeld said. “It’s not up to us to pick winners and losers in public and private.”
Advocates, like DeVos, for vouchers have pointed to the statistics for cities like Milwaukee where, according to United States census data, one third of the city is under the poverty line. Eighty-three percent of the 78,000 students in Milwaukee are on free or reduced lunch in the public school system.
In 2013 and 2014 less than half of those students met academic expectations, according to the Wisconsin Department of Education.
Fuentes-Rohwer pointed to the fact that vouchers don’t solve the underlying poverty of the regions and they do not pay the full amount of tuition to these private and charter schools if students can make it past the waiting list, she said.
“Our kids shouldn’t have to win a lottery to get a high-quality education,” Fuentes-Rohwer said.
She said, while she has fears for the safety of public education after DeVos as attacked it during her hearing, Fuentes-Rohwer said she isn’t giving up.
Fuentes-Rohwer said at the very least, people understand in part why she is such a fierce advocate for public education over private.
“The beautiful thing about Betsy DeVos is I don’t feel like a crazy conspiracy theorist anymore,” she said.
