Democratic presidential hopefuls railed against charter schools and flaunted billion- and trillion-dollar education proposals during a Friday forum hosted by the largest union in the U.S.
“I am sick and tired of these efforts to privatize a precious thing we need, public education,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the National Education Association event in Houston. “I know we’re not supposed to be saying ‘hate,’ our teachers taught us not to. I hate the privatizers, and I want to stop them.” He aims to eliminate all federal funding for charter schools.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he would end federal funding for for-profit charter schools and freeze federal funding for all charter schools until a national audit is completed.
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke took a softer tone toward charter schools than some of his primary rivals. “There is a place for public, nonprofit charter schools, but private charter schools and voucher programs, not a single time in my administration will go to them,” he said.
Candidates broadly supported increasing Title I funding, investment in universal pre-kindergarten programs, and funding infrastructure projects for public schools.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said her proposal to subsidize early childhood education programs would be paid for through her plan for a wealth tax on multi-millionaires and billionaires. One analysis of her plan found that it would cost an additional $700 billion over the next 10 years.
Sanders brushed off critics of his plan to forgive all $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loan debt.
“I have been criticized for this proposal. I’m criticized for every proposal because I try to stand up for working families in this country and not the billionaire class,” Sanders said. “But on this proposal, if we can bail out the crooks on wall street to the tune of billions of dollars, we surely can cancel student debt in America.”
The White House hopefuls took aim at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her lack of teaching experience, with many pledging to nominate a teacher to the position.
“Betsy DeVos need not apply,” Warren said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner, assured the crowd that he would not make his wife Jill Biden, a former high school teacher, his education secretary. “So the press doesn’t get confused, I promise I’m not going to appoint my wife,” Biden quipped, adding that “she would be a good one.”
Julián Castro, former housing secretary under former President Barack Obama, made a nod to the debate over desegregation busing happening in the wake of California Sen. Kamala Harris attacking Biden during the first round of presidential primary debates last week for opposing federally mandated integration busing in the 1970s.
“I would invest in tools like voluntary busing so that within school districts, folks are able to go to different schools,” Castro said.
As the largest labor union in the U.S. with over 3 million members, the National Education Association is a major influence on Democratic politics. In 2015, the union endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, causing an uproar among Sanders supporters.
