Zoie Saunders, interim secretary of education, speaks during Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conference at the Central Vermont Technical Center in Barre on June 11. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 5:50 p.m.Seven months after the Vermont Senate refused to confirm Zoie Saunders as secretary of education, Gov. Phil Scott is giving it another go. Scott announced Tuesday that he had again appointed Saunders to the role, effective that day. She had been serving in an interim capacity since April 30, when the Senate voted 19-9 against her confirmation — and Scott shortly thereafter appointed her to the temporary role. Unlike the federal confirmation process, cabinet appointees in Vermont can begin serving immediately, even as they await confirmation by the Senate. And there’s not much the chamber could do to stop her appointment, at least for the moment, according to Senate Secretary John Bloomer. That’s because the Legislature has adjourned for the biennium and only the governor can summon its members back for a special session. Even when newly elected and reelected senators take office in January, they may not be inclined to wage an immediate fight against Saunders’ confirmation, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central. Baruth on Tuesday called Scott’s move “a provocation,” given the Senate’s previous rejection of Saunders. But he also sounded a conciliatory note, saying that, given the challenges the state faces with the ever-rising cost of education, this may not be the time to continue opposing the secretary’s appointment. “It would be disastrous at this point to either be fighting with the governor about it and losing any kind of cooperative framework we might establish, but it would also be disastrous to have an empty position at the secretary level,” he said. “So, ironically, it’s a moment for her to prove herself under fire.”Baruth had previously pledged to clear the decks of three key committees for the first full week of the legislative session to focus on potential changes to the state’s education finance system. He had called on the Scott administration to, at that time, “bring forward detailed proposals to address projected rate hikes this year and structural reforms for the future.”Since the Senate is not required to take up confirmation proceedings immediately, Baruth suggested that the body could hold off on a vote until, potentially, the middle or the end of the next legislative session. “My inclination is to wait a while and observe her work and then address it when the time seems right.”According to Amanda Wheeler, a spokesperson for Scott, the governor appointed Saunders to the current term, which expires February 28. At that time — as with any cabinet appointee — he could appoint her for another two-year term.The Senate that would ultimately take up Saunders’ confirmation will look different from the one that voted it down earlier this year. Republicans, who largely voted in favor of confirmation, picked up six seats in the 30-member body in this month’s elections, though all three Democrats who backed Saunders’ confirmation will no longer be serving next year.Confirmation requires a majority vote. Meanwhile, a lawsuit is still playing out over Scott’s appointment of Saunders to the interim secretary position. In June, Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, and Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor, sued the Scott administration, arguing that the Senate’s decision not to confirm Saunders should have prevented Scott from reappointing her. Though Washington County Superior Court Judge Robert Mello dismissed the lawsuit, Vyhovsky and McCormack appealed the case to the Vermont Supreme Court. Vyhovsky called Scott’s Tuesday appointment “confusing.”READ MORE “He is arguing, on the one hand, that what he did in April — of reappointing, even though the Senate had voted her down — was legal and binding, which is what we’ve challenged in the court,” she said. “He’s now making an appointment that sort of negates that opinion.”Vyhovsky argued there is “no such thing as an interim appointment” in state law.John Franco, a Burlington-based attorney representing Vyhovsky, said Scott’s decision on Tuesday to appoint Saunders to the position is unlawful. While the Legislature is not in session, the governor can only make appointments to vacant positions, he argued. “The only way there can be a vacancy is if he concedes what he did in April was unlawful,” Franco said. Franco said he doesn’t expect to take immediate legal action as a result of Scott’s latest decision, but rather expects the issue to play out during the appeal process. And while Vyhovsky said she understands Baruth’s desire to cooperate with the governor, she has “reservations as to whether or not the governor wants to do that.”She pointed to his “eleventh hour” plan last year to address rising property taxes that she said “would have tanked our bond rating and made the education financing problem worse this year.” She also said the governor had not been coming to the table to negotiate “in good faith.”On the matter that started the heated debate in the first place — Saunders’ fitness for office — Veyhovsky continues to be apprehensive, alluding to what she said were challenges within the Agency of Education. “Yes, we need a more equitable, sustainable funding model, and we need to look at all of the cost-saving mechanisms available to us, but we do, at the end of the day, need a strong public education system if we want a strong society,” she said. In a press release announcing Saunders’ reappointment, Scott’s office made no mention of the Senate’s previous rejection. Instead, it focused on her work over the past half-year leading the Agency of Education in an interim capacity.Scott said in a written statement that he had believed Saunders was “the right person at the right time” to lead the agency “since day one.”“In her six months at the Agency of Education, Zoie has demonstrated a strong commitment to working with teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community members, so together, we can build a stronger education system,” Scott said. “I believe those who have met Zoie have seen how valuable her experience and expertise is.”In her own written statement, Saunders said it had been a privilege to serve as interim secretary. “I am grateful to Governor Scott for his confidence in my leadership and his support of the Agency’s efforts to promote education quality, equity, and sustainability,” she said.Correction: Due to inaccurate information provided by the governor’s office, an earlier version of this story misstated the length of a cabinet member’s term.Read the story on VTDigger here: Phil Scott again appoints Zoie Saunders secretary of education, half a year after the Senate refused to confirm her.