Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning called for sweeping every component of the state’s public education system into a single department in her cabinet under her control.
She wants to create the Department of Education and assemble every program, involving students from early learning through college under its roof. Gregoire would appoint a secretary of education to run this new agency.
She envisions this department absorbing some tasks of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction while leaving state schools chief Randy Dorn to focus solely on running of the K-12 system.
That didn’t sit well with Dorn who sounds prepared to fight hard against the governor.
“I’ve been a legislator, and every governor I’ve known has wanted more power,” he said in a prepared statement.
“The governor can create any staff position she wants. Her proposal, however, would require the State Superintendent to report to a new Secretary of Education. I am an elected official: my boss is the people of this state, not the Governor. That is state law, explicit in Article III of the State Constitution. Would the Governor also suggest that the other elected officials report to a Governor-appointed official?
“What troubles me most, though, is that this feels like a smokescreen. The most pressing issue we face is lack of funding. In February 2009, a King County Superior Court judge ruled that basic education is underfunded in the state – and that ruling was based on financial data from two years before. Since then, education has been cut even further. Consolidating commissions and eliminating agencies isn’t a bad idea, but it takes time and energy away from much more pressing issues.”
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