SPRINGDALE (KFSM)– Public educators, retiree’s and friends lined Huntsville road in Springdale, protesting the support of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.
The Arkansas Education Association organized this protest after U.S. Senator Tom Cotton released a statement in support of DeVos on Facebook. Part of Cotton’s statement read “I’m confident she’ll work hard to put a quality education within reach of every child in Arkansas and America”.
Most protesters main concern with the Trump nominee is funding.
“She actually actively campaigns to funnel funds from public education into for profit charter schools and private schools which devastates local communities.” said protester Anna Beaulieu.
With current resources for public schools limited, a third grade teacher is concerned for the future of his students.
“We already struggle with funding — if we have funding cut, it’s going to be even harder to have like the basic necessities like textbooks and just the resources that we need to teach our students.” said Dustin Manning.
The committee will meet this Tuesday (Jan. 31st) for final voting.