January 27, 2023

DES MOINES – Today, the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten gave the following statement to Fox Business:  

“Parents and families, no matter where they live, want safe, well-funded public schools, not schemes to funnel taxpayers’ money to the wealthy few. The Governor of Iowa is risking real political damage by doing the bidding of Betsy DeVos. After her midterms failure in Michigan, DeVos has leaned on the Iowa legislature to ram through a reckless spending spree opposed by conservatives and liberals alike. 

“This program will syphon close to $1 billion in public money into private hands, while leaving communities holding the bag. Eighty percent of voters back improvement in public schools over privatization. It seems that the donors who wrote this bill support school choice, except if that choice is the one favored by most American parents—their neighborhood public school.”