We won’t stop fighting for public education
You have likely heard that on Tuesday, April 30th, the state senate voted on the confirmation of Zoie Saunders as Secretary of Education. After hearing from hundreds of their constituents, 19 senators voted not to confirm Saunders (passing the needed threshold of 15). Unfortunately, within minutes of the vote, Governor Scott sent out this press release in which he appointed Saunders against the will of the senate in an interim position, which could last until February 2025.
We need to celebrate that our voices were heard on one level and had a huge impact on our state senators. It is unprecedented for state senators to vote down a nomination. Together we made the unprecedented occur. We are at a unique moment where people across the state are thinking about the importance of public education and wondering what’s happening. There are further action steps we can take to build on this momentum:
Thank your senator. If you wrote to your senators and they were among the 19 who voted no, a brief note of gratitude could go a long way.
Write the governor. Although it is not clear he will listen, you can write to Governor Scott directly using this link. Here is a sample letter you can use.
Support Public Schools. Do what you can to support your local public schools by ensuring the budget passes, considering running for the school board, or joining/starting a school equity committee.
Thank you for speaking out in support of young people across Vermont.
