NPE begins campaign to oppose DeVos
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 28, 2016
More information contact:
Carol Burris (718) 575-3276; cburris@networkforpubliceducation.org
The Network for Public Education (NPE)
Diane Ravitch’s Network for Public Education’s campaign to oppose Betsy DeVos begins
Over 70,000 supporters send letters to their senators opposing the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education this weekend.
Network for Public Education ranks swell, with over 56,000 joining in less than 48 hours.
Kew Gardens, New York — Today, the Network for Public Education, a national nonprofit education advocacy organization, announced its campaign to stop the approval of Betsy DeVos, as U.S. Secretary of Education.
NPE President and NYU education historian, Diane Ravitch, said the following in opposition to DeVos: “Betsy DeVos’s hostility to public schools makes her unfit to be Secretary of Education. She has a long record of supporting private and religious schools, not public schools. Those of us who believe that public education is a public responsibility, not a consumer good, must resist her nomination. Police departments, firefighters, public libraries, public parks, public beaches, public schools: these belong to all of us. DeVos should continue her privatization campaign in the private sector, not as the Secretary of Education.”
NPE Board member, Mark Miller (who is also the President Elect of Pennsylvania School Boards Association) noted that his state has some of the worst charter laws in the nation. Miller said, “My largest concern about Betsy DeVos in the office of Education Secretary is her ability to advance her personal war to privatize public schools while having the force of the Federal Government behind her. This could push school districts like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Erie over the brink, while endangering others for financial ruin. Our students deserve better.”
According to NPE Executive Director, Carol Burris, “The enormous initial response to our campaign reinforced what we at NPE have always believed—Americans love their community public schools. They respect their school boards, nearly all of whom are unpaid public servants elected by their community. De Vos’s Michigan system is a disaster caused by profiteers swooping into an unregulated school “market.” Americans want their community schools, not K-12 versions of Trump University, on the corner.”
NPE will expand efforts throughout December and January, and form alliances and joint actions with other national and local pro-public education organizations.