ICYMI: Pompeo, Devos, and McIntosh Discuss School Freedom at Club for Growth’s New Hampshire Forum

Joe Kildea  |   September 1, 2021

Club for Growth hosted a New Hampshire School Freedom Forum with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Club for Growth President David McIntosh on Tuesday, August 31st in Concord, New Hampshire. This was the first stop on Club for Growth’s National Campaign for School Freedom.

 

Key Takeaways:

Club for Growth’s nationwide campaign comes amidst parental concerns surrounding school reopening in the wake of the pandemic, the growing number of failing public school systems, and left-wing political agendas being pushed in numerous school districts around the nation. The New Hampshire forum promoted awareness and enhanced support for “School Freedom” as an education option for parents and families struggling to find the best schools for their children. According to polling, 71% of voters support School Choice, including 66% of Democrats.

 

Forum Excerpts:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke out strongly for School Freedom: 

POMPEO: “As I’ve traveled the world I – I watched a lot of bad actors. There is nothing, there was no threat, not the Chinese Communist Party, not Vladimir Putin, not the time I met – spent with Chairman Kim in North Korea. There is nothing that is more likely to undermine our way of life here in the United States than our failure to educate the next generation.  It’s not a close call, it’s – it’s not a close call and we are on the cusp of losing it.”

POMPEO: “There are very few places in the American economy where monopolies dominate, and where people are restricted in the products they can choose. Parents should have the ability to choose the product they want to choose for their child.”

POMPEO: “Why would we give parents with means the capacity for school freedom but not give every parent that same capacity to make that choice, it’s the morally right thing to do, it’s the, it’s the important thing to do for the country as well, to raise up not just a handful but the many.”

 

Similarly, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos discussed her experience fighting in Washington D.C. for School Freedom:

DEVOS: “I worked hard with President Trump on introducing a policy initiative called Education Freedom Scholarships and it would be the most transformative and significant investment in kids from the federal level so [inaudible] for those not familiar is a tax credit to bolster state driven initiatives. So states would choose to participate or not but it would really provide rocket fuel to efforts already going on in states.”

DEVOS: “And now is an important moment to really introduce policies that are going to empower families and kids to find their right fit for education”

DEVOS: “We, we have– we have such good ideas that are proven in states across the country and we need to continue to build on those, and really to support children and their families to find that right fit for them because we know that it is critical to the future of our country to ensure that every single child has the opportunity to fully develop themselves and their gifts and talents.”

 

Club for Growth President David McIntosh talked about the Club’s efforts to promote School Freedom:

MCINTOSH: “You all in the Trump Administration also put forward an idea, during the Covid relief package, that – the additional funding that was going to schools should be directed through the parents and let them chose to the public school if that’s where their children go, or to private schools, or to homeschooling. And when you start thinking about directing the public money for schools, then school choice or school freedom, becomes also the freedom for the public schools…[inaudible] – they, they will have much more direct authority over a School Board, or a Bureaucrat, or an Administrator …”

MCINTOSH: “In order to promote, and encourage, and pass school choice and school freedom bills. We’re going to need an army of grassroots folks; we’re going to need leaders who will step up regardless of party and do what’s right for the children.”