Very disappointing news from Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos’s back yard.
Grand Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal recently broke from the education crowd when she supported President Donald Trump’s nomination of West Michigan philanthropist and activist Betsy DeVos for secretary of education.
Now, emails and correspondence obtained by Target 8 show how far the superintendent planned to go to show her support.
The correspondence shows plans for a trip to DeVos’ confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., paid for by DeVos’ nonprofit, American Federation for Children. It also included “talking points” provided by the organization.
The leader of the GRPS teachers union said the emails and correspondence raise questions about whether the superintendent is too closely tied to DeVos.
The trip to support DeVos didn’t happen because her confirmation hearing was postponed, and Neal was unable to attend the rescheduled hearing, according to the emails.
In addition to, well, the fact that this even happened, this situation is all the more disappointing given that relations between Grand Rapids Public Schools teachers and administration had substantially improved since Neal became superintendent.