Change to appointed education leader must benefit Hoosier students

<p>Indiana’s secretary of education will no longer be an elected position starting in January 2021 after the General Assembly voted to give the governor power to appoint the public schools leader.</p><p>Everyone knew the move was coming, it just came a little faster since Superintendent Jennifer McCormick decided not to seek re-election and the Legislature accelerated the timetable of the switch. House Bill 1005 now calls for the appointment of the superintendent starting Jan. 11, 2021.</p><p>Most states have appointed superintendents. Indiana remained only one of 13 in which voters elected the superintendent.</p><p>Electing the superintendent had been working fine for years and past governors and education leaders typically enjoyed productive relationships.</p><p>That changed when Democrat Glenda Ritz was elected superintendent during Republican Gov. Mike Pence’s term.</p><p>The two had a tense and unproductive relationship that did not serve Hoosier public education well.</p><p>Those who support an appointed superintendent say it will increase accountability in the state’s chief executive and reduce education-policy gridlock, while others say it will turn the office into a rubber stamp.</p><p>The change was one of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s priorities for this legislative session.</p><p>We have been critical of the change from an elected to appointed superintendent because it takes the public out of public education.</p><p>What shouldn’t be lost in this process is Hoosier students and that any change must benefit them.</p><p>Going forward the governor and the secretary of education must work together, set the public education agenda and ensure that those students in Indiana’s public schools receive a quality education that prepares them for the future.</p><p>Send comments to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p>