Democrats in the education world are ready to say goodbye to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, but divides within the party about who should replace her fall along familiar lines.
On one side, labor leaders like Randi Weingarten and Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa are garnering attention. On the other, leaders and stakeholders who have historically clashed with labor are pushing district superintendents with experience overseeing major systems containing both traditional public schools and nonunionized charter schools. Tim Shriver, chairman of the board of the Special Olympics and a member of the Kennedy family, has also made clear to the Biden team that he is interested in the role, a source close to him tells HuffPost.
While most education groups stood united against DeVos, the current fault lines are a reminder of existing divisions in the Democratic Party around issues of education reform and school accountability.
Weingarten, the longtime leader of the American Federation of Teachers, the teachers union representing more than 1.7 million members, tells HuffPost it’s a privilege people would mention her name as a possibility, but she’s perfectly happy remaining in her current position, too.
“This has been my life’s work, so obviously it’s an honor people would mention it,” said CONTINUE READING: Goodbye, Betsy: Speculation Increases Over The Next Education Secretary | HuffPost
