As the new year and new administration in Sacramento begins, one wonders what is in store for us in the world of public education. A piece of that puzzle is the State Board of Education (SBOE) that is fully appointed by the Governor when vacancies appear. As there are vacancies on the immediate horizon (actually a majority of the Board is coming up for appointment), who will fill the roles and what will it mean?
The Sacramento politicos seem clear that Governor Brown will appoint Michael Kirst, Professor Emeritus of Stanford. It is also speculated that Kirst will be the President of the SBOE under Brown's administration. All of this is interesting, though not surprising, as Kirst also served on the SBOE and as President during Brown's earlier administration. My understanding is that Kirst also served in an advisory role on education issues during the recent Gubernatorial campaign.
The other name that is being "floated" is that of former State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), Bill Honig (1983-93). In addition to his state office, Bill Honig has continued to be involved in education with his advocacy for student literacy and reduction of barriers of such.
Coming from a SBOE that has been very pro-charter (and charter-friendly) in their approach to challenges of public education, these potential appointments, their support for public education, and their ultimate impact on public education in California could be most interesting. At the same time, I know that there is a desire with the current SPI to cooperate and coordinate with the SBOE -- in fact, the notion is that the Governor, SPI, and SBOE are all of the same party and have the same public education interests in mind. The Governor-elect has also indicated that he will not fill the post of Secretary of Education. Time will tell and it should be an interesting 6 months from January to July as this begins to reveal itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment