The Vermont Senate has confirmed Zoie Saunders’ appointment as Education Secretary, nearly a year after rejecting her nomination.
Last April, the Senate voted down Saunders’ nomination to lead the Vermont Agency of Education and within minutes Republican Governor Phil Scott named her interim secretary.
Her nomination to serve through February 28, 2027 was back before the full Senate Thursday.
The Senate Education Committee had forwarded Saunders’ nomination on a 5 to 1 vote following a hearing on March 11th. Chair Seth Bongartz, a Democrat from Bennington, noted the committee has spent many hours working with Saunders in her role as interim secretary.
“She has served with poise and grace under pressure. She’s stabilized districts at high operational risk through targeted support, on the ground training and capacity building strategies. Secretary Saunders has proven she will show up every day and stay focused on the work regardless of the noise and distractions. She is providing steady leadership at a time steady leadership is critical,” Bongartz said. ”Perhaps the most important thing Secretary Saunders has done is develop a vision to make Vermont the gold standard for excellence in education.”
A number of senators were casting a second vote on Saunders’ confirmation. Democratic Pro Tem Phil Baruth opposed her last year, but stood up to say he has changed his mind and would now vote to confirm.
“At that moment that made sense to me. When I look back on it, it still makes sense to me, in that moment. But I will be voting yes today. For me personally what the decision comes down to now is we have been now years without a confirmed secretary. Years. That’s not good for anybody. We need a confirmed Secretary of Education now,” asserted Baruth. “We are in the process of trying to transform our entire educational system and we need to get it right. So having a confirmed secretary is crucial to that larger partnership that we have ongoing with the administration.”
Other senators disagree. Chittenden Progressive/Democrat Tanya Vyhovsky opposes the education transformation plan Saunders and the Scott administration are proposing and voted no on Saunders’ confirmation.
“The Senate already voted no on this appointment and that vote was ignored. Hundreds of Vermonters have again reached out to us begging us not to confirm this appointment. My view that the candidate remains unqualified to lead Vermont public education into the future has not changed. I see it as my duty to my constituents and to the state of Vermont, to our educators and to our children, to again vote no,” Vyhovsky said.
Windham District Democrat Nader Hashim questioned the purpose of a no vote.
“Last year I voted no. This year I’m voting yes. What exactly are we trying to accomplish by voting no?” asked Hashim. “Because I can only see one of two things happening. We vote no and then she gets reappointed. And then what? Or we vote no and something miraculous happens and the Governor respects the advice and consent process and now we have a vacancy. I’d like to know at a time when test scores are down, teachers are struggling financially, infrastructure’s a mess and students are dealing with mental health issues, I can’t say that with a straight face that putting a vacancy at the head of the AOE is suddenly going to make that better. I’m not seeing it.”
Senators voted 22 to 8 to confirm Saunders.
Scott issued a statement thanking the senators who voted in favor of confirmation and said Saunders “is the leader we need at the Agency of Education...”
