Skandera has something in common with US Sec of Ed

Hanna Skandera

From Capitol Report New Mexico - On the eve of a crucial confirmation hearing in the Senate Rules Committee, opponents of Hanna Skandera have based some of their criticism of the would-be secretary of the Public Education Department on the grounds that she has never been employed as a classroom teacher. But neither has current U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

     In fact, a review by New Mexico Watchdog shows that only two former heads of the country’s education department have K-12 teaching experience and only one served as a faculty member on the university level. Skandera’s confirmation hearing has gripped the Roundhouse as a political showdown shapes up between Skandera, who has served for two years as the secretary-designate and close advisor to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, and Democrats who have clashed with education reform measures Skandera and the governor have been pushing.

According to the New Mexico Constitution, the leader of the PED must be a “qualified, experienced educator.”

But Skandera has never worked as a teacher or administrator at a K-12 public school. “I don’t think we should close our eyes to that issue,” Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, has said on a number of occasions. Read more

Skandera has something in common with US Sec of Ed