Conservatives Target Education Nominee

Rallying against another Clinton Administration nominee for promoting a “pro-gay, anti-family” agenda, conservative religious groups are challenging the nomination of former San Diego School Supt. Thomas Payzant to become an assistant education secretary.

Opponents have succeeded in getting a hearing scheduled today before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Although hearings are unusual for such second-tier posts, the appointment of Payzant to oversee a $9-billion budget for elementary and high school education does not appear to be in jeopardy.

Education Secretary Richard W. Riley issued a statement Wednesday urging quick confirmation of Payzant, 52, who enjoys strong backing from President Clinton and Senate Democrats. Riley hailed Payzant as “the best possible man for this important post” and “a dedicated family man committed to improving the lives of young people.”

But religious organizations portray Payzant as a social engineer who is determined to advance “a philosophy of education that is extremely detrimental to young children,” said the Rev. Louis Sheldon, an Anaheim Presbyterian minister and leader of the Traditional Values Coalition.

Sheldon said Payzant teaches children that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle, noting that he once prohibited the Boy Scouts from conducting a tutorial program during school hours in San Diego because of the group’s ban on gays as troop leaders.

In January, Payzant, who was a Boy Scout, recommended against allowing the organization to continue to conduct programs in school facilities during the regular school day.

The Board of Education agreed that the scouts had violated the district’s non-discrimination policy and unanimously adopted Payzant’s recommendation. The Boy Scouts continue to have access to San Diego schools for their programs after school hours.

Payzant declined to comment on the issues raised by religious leaders pending his confirmation hearing before the Labor Committee, which rarely holds such sessions on sub-Cabinet nominees. The hearing was requested by Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) and other Republicans.

The same groups unsuccessfully fought the nomination of former San Francisco Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg, a lesbian and an activist for gay rights, who was confirmed as an assistant housing secretary in May after a raucous Senate debate. Recognizing that the votes are stacked against them again in the Payzant case, religious leaders are sending out action alerts across the country and urging congregation members to contact their senators.

An educator for more than 30 years, Payzant served for a decade as superintendent in San Diego, the nation’s eighth-largest urban school district. Last year, he received the prestigious McGraw Prize in Education and in February was named one of the nation’s 100 best school administrators by Executive Educator.

Before being appointed to the San Diego post, Payzant served as superintendent of schools in Oklahoma City and Eugene, Ore. He holds a master’s degree in teaching and a doctorate in education from Harvard University.

Payzant’s nomination by President Clinton in March has been endorsed by more than a dozen national organizations, including the National Education Assn. and the American Federation of Teachers.

Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-San Diego) strongly rejected the charge that Payzant did not act in the best interests of students during his tenure as superintendent.

“His only agenda is to do what is right for American children and he did what was right for San Diego’s children year in and year out,” Schenk said. “Very few can last in a job as long as he did as superintendent of a major school district and come away with across-the-board affection and admiration of people.”

Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-San Diego) praised Payzant as “a good family man, hard worker and one of the brightest people I know,” but he strongly protested the school policy regarding the Boy Scouts.

“I would not be surprised if this issue dominated the debate, but it would obscure the positive things Tom has done for San Diego schools,” Cunningham said.