Alabama’s governor makes surprising — and scary — education appointment
What message is a governor sending to the public with an appointment like this?
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has tapped someone to your state’s Board of Education who never attended public schools, publicly declared that his children never will either, and actively supported a successful effort to defeat a vote on a school tax in a divisive campaign in his home county?
Bentley, a Republican, named Matthew Brown, a 28-year-old design engineer at the Baldwin County Highway Department, to the Alabama State Board of Education. Brown graduated in 2007 from Pensacola Christian College and attended Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, graduating in 2011.
Bentley hasn’t been what you’d call a friend to public schools, given his support for tax credits, vouchers and charter schools. This year he signed into law legislation that amended the 2013 Alabama Accountability Act and that diverts up to $30 million a year from the Education Trust Fund for “opportunity scholarships” (vouchers). He also recently signed a law allowing charter schools to open in Alabama and giving a new state commission the right to overturn a local school district’s rejection of specific charter applications. (So much for the traditional Republican love of all things local).
Now, Bentley has appointed Brown, a man with absolutely no history of participation of even interest in helping public schools to represent his district on the state Board of Education. In his announcement statement, Bentley said that he was “honored” to appoint Brown, who would bring “a unique perspective to the position.” Unique indeed.
As public education activist Larry Lee noted in a post on his education blog, Bentley “has appointed someone to state board of education with no known involvement ever with public schools (did not attend them and says his kids will not) and who led the battle in <arch to defeat a school tax vote in his home county and wants us to believe this is the best candidate in seven counties to make decisions about a statewide system with a $4.1 billion budget and 90,000 employees.”
Lee, the former executive director of the Covington County Economic Development Commission and the West Central Partnership of Alabama, said the appointment of Brown “stunned educators.” Lee, who was the lead author of a report about outstanding rural schools in Alabama a few years ago, noted that Bentley was aware of opposition to Brown’s selection but ignored it.
Meanwhile, the Tuscaloosa News reported that none other than Bentley has been named vice chair of the National Governors Association’s education and workforce committee. A Bentley statement said:
“Alabama has made significant strides in preparing students for success in college and their careers. As governors, we are uniquely positioned to influence federal legislation and regulations that affect education and workforce policies. I look forward to sharing Alabama’s success in the area of workforce development with other governors.”
Who appointed him? According to the News, he was just appointed during the association’s summer conference by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, chair of the National Governors Association, and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the group’s vice chair. Herbert is a Republican; McAuliffe a Democrat.
Here is a letter that Lee has sent to Bentley about the Brown appointment and other education issues:
Governor Bentley:As you are aware, your recent announcement that you were appointing Matt Brown of Fairhope to replace Al Thompson on the State Board of Education has created a great deal of controversy, especially in the public education community and in Baldwin County.There was a vote to increase local support for schools in Baldwin County in March. This was an extremely contentious and divisive issue. This is one of the fastest growing school systems in Alabama. Their student population has grown 24.5% in the last 10 years and today they are the fourth largest system in Alabama.Given this, many public officials and education personnel, worked feverishly to gather support for the vote. The face of the opposition was Matt Brown, who created and headed the anti-taxAlabama’s governor makes surprising — and scary — education appointment - The Washington Post: