It was to be a symbolic, if not political gesture that ultimately fell flat.

The labor-friendly San Diego school board had planned to consider issuing an invitation to U.S. Secretary Betsy DeVos at its public meeting Tuesday, but the proposed resolution was withdrawn with an apology Monday amid complaints from the teachers union.

“It’s not happening,” said San Diego Unified School District spokeswoman Shari Winet.

Proposed by trustee John Lee Evans and board President Richard Barrera, the invitation was to have the controversial education czar “visit the district on a fact-finding mission to learn what the school district is doing to create quality public schools in every neighborhood, so that she can collect the data needed that will allow her to base her decisions on what is best for students rather than on any political ideology.”


A longtime labor leader, Barrera issued a statement Monday morning explaining his change of heart about co-sponsoring the proposed resolution intended to “help her learn all the things that public schools are doing well” and to “challenge her views openly and in a public setting.”

“Given the polarizing nature of the DeVos nomination and confirmation vote, however, it is clear this would be the wrong time to engage the Secretary in dialogue,” Barrera said. “Now is the time for those of us who believe in public education to stand together and confront the threat clearly posed by the DeVos ideology.”

Barrera went on to “apologize to all of those we excluded from the conversation by moving forward so quickly.”

DeVos, a Republican fundraiser from Michigan, has backed school vouchers across the country.


The San Diego school board invitation was made public Friday night when its meeting agenda was posted. Before 9 a.m. Monday, the San Diego Education Association took issue with the gesture.

Although the visit would “reveal how wrong and destructive (DeVos’) well-funded efforts to destroy public education have been, her history and recent confirmation hearing testimony say otherwise,” the union said in a statement.”

“The reality is that DeVos has committed her personal life, abundant wealth and political connections, in the pursuit of dismantling and destabilizing public education in Michigan,” the union continued. “She has now set her sights on all of America’s public schools. DeVos has advocated for diverting public money to voucher programs and profit-driven charter management organizations, who operate with little or no regulatory oversight while draining desperately needed resources from local schools and communities.”

Would DeVos have visited San Diego schools?


The U.S. Department of Education had not responded to an inquiry from The San Diego Union-Tribune as of Monday afternoon.

The San Diego school board has adopted resolutions over the years to make political statements on everything from the election of President Donald Trump and the reaffirmation of the district’s commitment to the “values of peace, tolerance and respect for multiple perspectives” to support for a disgraced trustee forced to step down from office.

To place a resolution on a school board agenda, two trustees must sponsor a proposal. Evans first pitched the DeVos invitation with Barrera co-sponsoring the effort to get it on the agenda for consideration.

The confirmation last week of DeVos had been widely opposed by teachers unions, educators and politicians.


All 48 Democrats voted against her, as did two Republicans. Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50- 50 tie vote in the Senate to confirm DeVos. It the first time a cabinet secretary was confirmed on a tie- breaking vote by the vice president.

On Friday, on her third day on the job, DeVos visited a middle school in southwest Washington, D.C., where she was met by protesters.


maureen.magee@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @MaureenMagee