MARQUETTE, MI-- Officials with Marquette Area Public Schools say Betsy DeVos does not have the skill to be Secretary of Education. The full Senate is expected to vote on the issue early this week.
The MAPS Board sent the following letter to Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters:
"A consensus of the members of the Marquette Area Public Schools Board of Education, have serious concerns about the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Mrs. DeVos appears to have a clear lack of experience in working with public schools. Mrs. DeVos appears to possess few of the qualifications we expect from a Secretary of Education, having little to no relevant experience. She does not possess a degree in any educational discipline, has never attended public schools, nor have her children attended public schools. Her experience lies in charter schools, appearing that the focus of her work has always been in areas that support private education, to the detriment of public schools.
"The Secretary of Education should avoid a privatization agenda that transfers taxpayer money to private and charter schools. We oppose the privatization of education, taking it out of the hands of educational professionals and handing off to for-profit organizations. In the State of Michigan, a significant amount of money has already been redirected from traditional public schools to private and charter schools. This has and will continue to have, a negative financial effect on the Marquette Area Public School District. When funding is taken away from public schools by new charter schools, public schools are forced to shoulder the unexpected financial burden. This gives us great concern.
"We stand with our MAPS teachers in questioning the appointment of Betsy DeVos and how that might affect future funding of public schools. As a Board, the undersigned strongly support our excellent educational system here at MAPS, our teachers, our students, and our entire community. We urge our nation's representatives - both Democrat and Republican - to vote against the appointment of Mrs. DeVos and to seek an appointee whose vision and expertise will help transform our Public Education system for the future, rather than seek to undermine and destroy it. The system is not broke, but rather it is a robust and highly successful system that has served our Marquette Area Public School Community for many years. We feel this system may be in jeopardy due to the appointment of Mrs. DeVos and the financial ramifications we face when public education funding is cut in favor of private and charter schools.
Respectfully,
Rich Rossway, President
The Marquette Area Public Schools Board of Education"
