New Education Chief Wants Everyone to Fulfill Potential : Struck No Deal With Bush, Cavazos Says

WASHINGTON — Lauro F. Cavazos, in his first news conference as education secretary, said Wednesday that he has made no deal with GOP presidential nominee George Bush to continue in office if Bush wins the November election, and he declared that his biggest challenge is to ensure that “every person in America is educated to his or her full potential.”

Speaking at the Department of Education, Cavazos said: “I’ve struck absolutely no deal (with Bush) nor have we even discussed the possibility of my staying on beyond the January date” when a new President takes office.

Cavazos was sworn in by Bush Tuesday, hours after the Senate confirmed his nomination, 94 to 0. Cavazos, on leave as president of Texas Tech University, is the first Latino appointed a Cabinet member.

Remarking on his nomination to replace former Education Secretary William J. Bennett, who resigned Sept. 20, Cavazos said: “I’d like to really believe that I was picked because I was the person more qualified, whether I’m Hispanic or not.”

Some Latino leaders have suggested that the nomination was a campaign tactic by President Reagan to draw Latino support for Bush’s presidential campaign. Before Cavazos was nominated, Bush pledged that, if elected, he would nominate the first Latino to the Cabinet.

But Cavazos, 61, who holds degrees in physiology, cytology and zoology, said that he was approached about the job three times in 1980 by President Reagan’s “transition team” as it collected names of possible executive appointees. At the time, Cavazos said, he asked not to be considered for the position because he had just taken over the presidency of the Lubbock, Tex., university.

In the four months remaining in the Reagan Administration, Cavazos said, he intends to “awaken America, recall that our strength really has come because we’ve had an educated electorate.” He said that he plans to spread this message to members of Congress, professional education societies, the news media and local school officials across the country.

He called on these groups to concentrate on the problem of high school dropouts. “If we let people drop out, we’re that much poorer. If we have illiterate people, this nation suffers. If a handicapped person does not reach his or her (potential)--those to me are the most vital issues.” Dropout rates are now 8% for whites, 23% for blacks and 40% for Latinos.