US President-elect Donald Trump
announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate Betsy DeVos, a wealthy
Republican campaigner for alternatives to public schools, as his
education secretary.
DeVos is the second woman Trump has
tapped to fill a cabinet position. He earlier named South Carolina
Governor Nikki Haley to be US ambassador to the United Nations.
DeVos is a Republican megadonor from
Michigan who has been active in promoting school choice, a movement that
advocates the use of tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt
out of the public school system.
“Under her leadership we will reform the
US education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our
children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school
choice to all families,” Trump said.
DeVos is chairman of the Windquest
Group, an investment group with a clean energy focus; the Dick and Betsy
DeVos Family Foundation; and the American Federation for Children, a
group that describes itself as dedicated to “breaking down barriers to
educational choice,” particularly for low income families.
She is the sister of Erik Prince, the
founder of Blackwater USA, a security firm whose operations in Iraq
aroused controversy. Her father was the founder of an automobile parts
supplier.
Her husband’s father Richard DeVos was
ranked Number 88 on Forbes’ list of US billionaires, with a fortune
estimated to be worth $5.4 billion.
Trump’s views on education have been
inconsistent, but during the campaign he promised a $20 billion dollar
federal program to allow low income students to attend private or
charter schools.
“The status quo in education is not
acceptable,” DeVos said in a statement accepting the offer of the
education secretary position.
“Together, we can work to make
transformational change that ensures every student in America has the
opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential.”
AFP
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