Dear Editor:
After careful consideration of her qualifications and the responses she offered at her hearing, I’ve decided I must oppose Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.
I cannot support an Education nominee who has expressed plans to put Americans’ tax dollars toward private and charter schools, while our public schools are in need of those resources. And our public schools must be our priority. It would be especially wrong to support a nominee who wants to funnel money from public schools to charter schools, while our Nation’s public school teachers are regularly investing their own money from their own pockets in our students, in an attempt to bridge funding gaps.
Further, at her hearing, Ms. DeVos would not commit to enforcing Federal safeguards for students with disabilities. I was shocked and deeply troubled by her equivocation on such a basic and commonsense issue.
She also committed no plans for improving college affordability–a growing concern for Maryland families struggling under ballooning tuition rates and student loans.
I believe Ms. DeVos is sincere in her beliefs and in her desire to serve her Country, however for these reasons, I cannot and will not support her nomination.
Risha Fennell