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.
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.
Most states have appointed superintendents. Indiana remained only one of 13 in which voters elected the superintendent.
Electing the superintendent had been working fine for years, and past governors and education leaders typically enjoyed productive relationships.
That changed when Democrat Glenda Ritz was elected superintendent during Republican Gov. Mike Pence’s term.
The two had a tense and unproductive relationship that did not serve Hoosier public education well.
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.
The change was one of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s priorities for this legislative session.
We have been critical of the change from an elected to appointed superintendent because it takes the public out of public education.
What shouldn’t be lost in this process is Hoosier students and that any change must benefit them.
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.
