Charter school chief Eva Moskowitz won’t take job as Trump’s education secretary

Charter school champion Eva Moskowitz declared Thursday that she has no interest in serving as education secretary in a Donald Trump administration.

Moskowitz, CEO of Success Academy, was mentioned as a candidate for the cabinet post by Trump’s transition team early in the week and fueled speculation by meeting Wednesday with the president-elect at Trump Tower.

However, she said at an unrelated rally Thursday outside City Hall that she intends to remain the head of Success Academy, which operates 41 charter schools in the city.

“At this time, I will not be entertaining any prospective opportunities,” she said. “I believe I can best serve our country’s children by continuing to expand Success Academy, developing best educational practices that can be used around the country.”

Moskowitz, a Democrat who once represented Manhattan’s East Side on the City Council, told news reporters that she voted for Hillary Clinton and is disappointed with the outcome of the election.

Trump has adopted a pro-charter school position. During his campaign, he called for investing $20 billion in school-of-choice programs. But he has also expressed opposition to the Common Core State Standards and Moskowitz supports the standards.

The rally outside City Hall on Thursday was yet another demonstration against Mayor Bill de Blasio, whom Moskowitz has accused of blocking her schools from expanding into under-utilized buildings. Moskowitz and the mayor have often clashed on charter school issues.

Political observers have mentioned Moskowitz as a potential mayoral candidate to run against de Blasio next year. She denied that she plans to oppose him next year.