Betsy DeVos Takes Her Assault on Public Schools Back to the States

From The Nation

A DeVos-backed group is pouring money into a statewide education race in Wisconsin, which will be decided Tuesday.

Betsy DeVos did not succeed in dismantling public education during her four-year tenure as Donald Trump's secretary of education. That's because, despite the billionaire campaign donor's determined efforts, the federal government is not the primary battleground in the fight for the future of our schools. Most of those big battles play out at the state and local levels of government. So, now that she's on the outs in Washington, DeVos is taking her crusade back to states such as Wisconsin -- where she and her allies are conniving to influence Tuesday's election for state superintendent of public instruction.

The choice is between an ardent advocate for public schools, Jill Underly, and a supporter of the voucher schemes that are favored by DeVos and the billionaire donors who for years have attacked teachers and the unions that represent them, Deborah Kerr.

The Wisconsin fight is the first statewide test of popular sentiment since Democrat Joe Biden replaced Republican Donald Trump as president, in a shift that moved DeVos out of the Department of Education. Technically, this is a nonpartisan race. In reality, the lines are clearly drawn in a state that is one of the most closely divided political battlegrounds in the nation.

Wisconsin voters will decide a classic battle that pits teachers and the unions that represent them against the DeVos-backed American Federation for Children. The federation is aggressively attacking Underly, pouring over $200,000 into an expensive broadcast and digital advertising campaign. At the same time, out-of-state donors who share DeVos's views have been shoring up Kerr's campaign, which is endorsed by former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, a longtime DeVos ally who earned national attention for his moves to cut funding for public education, divert tax dollars to private schools, and assault the rights of teachers to organize on behalf of fair pay and improved education standards.

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