The Vermont Senate on Thursday voted 22-8 to confirm Zoie Saunders as education secretary, nearly 11 months after the body rejected her nomination by a 19-9 margin.
The vote ends a period of limbo for Saunders, who was appointed by Gov. Phil Scott on an interim basis after the Senate voted her down last April. Scott later lifted her interim title, though Saunders’ appointment was still subject to confirmation by the Senate.
“Since the beginning, I’ve believed Zoie Saunders is the leader we need at the Agency of Education and I want to thank the Senators who voted to confirm her today,” Scott said in a statement after the vote on Thursday.
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Saunders first earned the backing of the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday by a 5-1 margin. Then, on Thursday, the full Senate voted. Beforehand, eight members took to the floor to explain their positions.
Senate Education chair Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington) began by explaining why his committee had recommended Saunders earlier in the week. After listing Saunders accomplishments, Bongartz said she “has served with poise and grace under pressure” during her time as secretary.
“She has provided steady leadership at a time steady leadership is critical,” Bongartz said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P–Chittenden-Central) was one of the 19 senators who voted against confirming Saunders last year. But on Thursday, he told fellow lawmakers that he would support her this time around.
Baruth said he found Scott’s decision to immediately appoint Saunders on an interim basis minutes after the Senate voted her down last year to be “a provocative act.” But he said it spurred him to “take a step a back and calm down and remember what was really at stake — and that is our educational system and our children.”
Baruth noted that the vote comes at a pivotal time. Scott and Saunders have pitched a major overhaul to education in Vermont that the legislature is now considering. That makes having a permanent education secretary in place all the more important, he said.
“Do I believe it’s better to have a Secretary Saunders or a negative vote against her and continuing uncertainty?” Baruth said. “Clearly, I prefer the former.”
Sens. Becca White (D-Windsor), Martine Gulick (D-Chittenden-Central), Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden-Central) and Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden-Southeast) took to the floor to explain why they would once again vote against Saunders’ confirmation.
White said that last year, she heard from dozens of constituents involved in public education who didn’t believe Saunders was the right candidate. This year, she said she received even more feedback from people telling her to oppose Saunders’ confirmation again.
“I stand in solidarity with our teachers, our students and our communities that have spoken loudly that the future of public education in the state should not be run by Interim Secretary Saunders,” White said.
Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), changed her vote from no to yes. She said that last year, she didn’t think Saunders was “the kind of change agent that I saw our schools needing.”
But Cummings said the Agency of Education has struggled for years and she’s found it to be more responsive to legislative requests under Saunders’ leadership than it has been in the past.
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Even though Saunders is promoting an education transformation plan that many legislators don’t fully support, Cummings said she believes it took courage from the administration to put forward a proposal.
“I think this appointment has just become kind of a red herring that’s … distracting us from dealing with the real problems we have,” Cummings said. “I think it’s time to put this to rest and put our energies into working on the solutions that our children deserve.”
The hourlong discussion ended with a roll call vote. Senators voting no also included Sens. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor), Ruth Hardy (D-Addison), Joe Major (D-Windsor) and Anne Watson (D/P-Washington).
“We have a lot of work ahead to transform our education system,” Scott wrote in his statement, “and Secretary Saunders remains committed to working together to create a reform plan that improves student outcomes and supports teachers at a cost taxpayers can afford.”