SC school board members say ‘no’ to DeVos

A group of more than 40 S.C. school board members want their U.S. senators to oppose President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee public education.

A wealthy Republican donor and long-time advocate of private-school choice, Betsy DeVos is slated to be U.S. education secretary in Trump’s administration.

Members of the S.C. School Boards Association are in Washington, D.C., for a conference and decided to take a trip to the Capitol to drop off hand-written notes decrying her confirmation to Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham of Seneca and Tim Scott of North Charleston.

“I am concerned that her lack of support for public schools in the past will cause great harm to our efforts for student success," Charles Saylors, a Greenville County school board member, wrote in a letter to the senators.

“I believe there are many ways to explore choice within a public school setting,” said Craig Plank, a Richland 2 school board member.

The Senate education committee is expected to vote on DeVos’ confirmation Tuesday.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "SC school board members say ‘no’ to DeVos."