ANDERSON – Gov. Mike Pence wants to eliminate the elected position of superintendent of public instruction as the automatic chairman of the State Board of Education.
Pence stopped in Anderson on Thursday on the day his plan for education reform was unveiled for the 2015 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
He said he will dissolve the Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI) that was created by executive order next February.
For the past year Glenda Ritz, superintendent of public instruction, has been battling with the appointed members of the State Board of Education and the role of the CECI when it comes to setting the education policy for the state.
During a visit with Anderson Community Schools on Thursday, Ritz told state Rep. Terri Austin that although Pence is dissolving the CECI by executive order, she and members of the board expressed a desire for the board itself to be the state education agency.
“Which really means they would do the job of my department because we are the state education agency for the department of ed,” she said. “So yes, he has dissolved CECI and I’m very thankful for that – I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that, but we still have things we are dealing with in the legislative session. One of them is keeping the Department of Education to oversee the schools in the state of Indiana.”
Ritz is the only Democrat currently elected to a statewide office, upsetting incumbent Republican Tony Bennett in 2012.
“We’ve all been witness to the tension and conflict that has occurred at the State Board of Education level,” Pence said. “I’m proud of the work our Center for Education has done; work done on standards and A through F grading, all done through that office.
“Somebody needs to take the first step to restore trust and harmony,” he said. “I’m aware of the controversy that surrounded that office since we created it.” Pence said he will ask the Indiana General Assembly to pass legislation that will allow the Democratic and Republican members of the State Board of Education to have the ability to elect the chair of the State Board of Education.
“I made the point that there are hundreds of boards and commissions that I appoint and in the majority of cases the people I appoint to those boards and commissions elect the chair,” he said. “I think the State Board of Education should operate the same way and would give an opportunity for the kind of reform of that board that will allow the members to elect the chair to move forward on a consensus basis.”
Pence said there is a need to get the State Board of Education to operate more effectively.
“The superintendent of public instruction plays an important role on the State Board of Education,” he said. “The superintendent is charged with leading the Department of Education and brings an important perspective to the state board. The superintendent should always be on the Board of Education. Allowing them to choose the individual best able to bring consensus to the board is right and proper.”
Austin, D-Anderson, applauded Pence’s decision to eliminate the CECI, but was opposed to changes on the State Board of Education.
“The people of the state of Indiana elected Glenda Ritz to be the chief education officer and I think we need to let her do her job,” she said. “The governor, as well as every legislator, needs to encourage the state board and the superintendent to work together. There needs to be a truce to some of the politicking and power plays that go on within the State Board of Education.”
Pence said he wants the 2015 session of the Indiana Legislature to be an education session.
Reporter Traci Moyer contributed to this report.