New Mexico lawmakers confirm Jeb Bush protégé as education secretary
The New Mexico Senate voted Monday to confirm Jeb Bush protégé Hanna Skandera as the state’s secretary of public education, handing a defeat to Democrats and teacher unions in what had become a four-year political fight.
Monday’s vote means that Skandera can continue doing the job she has been doing in an acting capacity since 2011, when Gov. Susana Martinez (R) appointed her to the helm of the state’s Public Education Department. Skandera’s confirmation had stalled repeatedly as Democratic lawmakers challenged her qualifications and criticized the sweeping Bush-style changes she brought to the state’s K-12 schools.
Five Democrats crossed party lines to join all of the Senate’s Republicans in voting to confirm Skandera 22-19.
“I’m humbled and excited all at the same time,” Skandera said Monday, according to the Albuquerque Journal, which reported that Skandera vowed to “stay the course” on her policy agenda.
Skandera, who worked at the Florida department of education when Bush was governor of that state, has stirred controversy in New Mexico as she has worked to import Bush’s “Florida formula” for education: Installing an A-through-F school grading system, expanding charter schools and virtual schools and pushing for a requirement that third-graders pass a reading test before they can be promoted to fourth grade.
Skandera also introduced a new teacher evaluation system that is tightly linked to student test scores and that has drawn criticism from teachers and unions for being unfair and riddled with problems. The American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit on Friday to try to stop the evaluations.
Senate Democrats have long argued that Skandera is not legally fit for the state’s top education job, citing a provision in the New Mexico constitution that requires the secretary of education to be a “qualified, experienced educator.” Skandera has never been a teacher, though she has worked as an education policy advisor for years, including for the U.S. Department of Education during the George W. Bush administration and for former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Ms. Skandera’s tenure has been characterized by divisive partisanship and a failure to listen with respect to teachers, parents and school districts,” Senate Majority Leader Michael S. Sanchez (D-Bernalillo & Valencia) said in a statement. “It’s a shame Governor Martinez refuses to give New Mexico a leader of public education who understands the needs of the classroom.”
Senate Republicans and state business leaders who supported Skandera said that New Mexico needs her aggressive approach to improve struggling public schools. New Mexico has long been one of the lowest-ranked states on many measures of academic performance, including graduation rates and national reading and math tests.
“I want someone who is tough, someone who isNew Mexico lawmakers confirm Jeb Bush protégé as education secretary - The Washington Post:
