Rep. Eric Bassler, R-Washington, to propose superintendent be appointed

"In the state budget about 52 percent of it goes to K-12 education," said Bassler. "The governor already gets the blame or the credit. It only made sense to give him the appointment power for the school superintendent."

The bill comes as Democrat State School Superintendent Glenda Ritz is leaving office and Republican Jennifer McCormick prepares to take over.

Ritz's tenure was marked with battles between her and Governor Mike Pence, who at one point appointed a "shadow" state board of education in an attempt to cut Ritz out of many education decisions. In addition, the Republican-led Legislature cut some of the powers of the office including removing Superintendent as the State Board Chairman.

"I felt this was the right time to propose this," said Bassler. "Now, we have people from the same party in the General Assembly, the Governor's and Superintendent's Office. If we had done it earlier it would have looked like we were trying to get rid of the Superintendent because she was from the other party. This takes the politics out of it."

Indiana has had a Superintendent of Public Instruction since 1851. Most were elected to the office. The only person to hold the position from Daviess County was Benjamin Burris, a Republican from Washington who was appointed Jan. 1, 1921. to fill out the term of Linnaeus Hines. Burris resigned Nov. 1, 1924. The position is one that more and more states have either eliminated or turned into an appointed office.

"Indiana is one of the few states left that has an elected Superintendent of Public Instruction," said Bassler. "There are only about 10 or so left around the country."

Bassler has been in the Indiana Senate for the last two years. The issues between Pence and Ritz helped push him to consider the bill. He says he has been testing the support it might have among fellow lawmakers.

"I presented it to the leadership in the Senate and they encouraged me to go forward with it," said Bassler. "Governor-elect Holcomb's office called and said they support it. I have a number of House members who are interested in signing on as sponsors. Right now I am looking for some co-sponsors. I think this bill will get support from Democrats and Republicans."

One thing Bassler is quick to point out is that the bill is not aimed as a slight to Superintendent-elect Jennifer McCormick.

"I held off on introducing this bill until I could talk with her legislative people and let them know it was coming," he said. "This is no slight against Jennifer McCormick. She is going to do a good job. This is about the mechanics of state government, making education more efficient and effective."

The bill, if passed, would not take effect until the current term for McCormick runs out four years from now.

"I have always believed that what we need are not people that agree, but people who are capable," said Bassler. "Even though she is a Republican, I don't think she will always agree with us. It is good to have her in that position."

Bassler says he has also had some informal conversations with area school superintendents about the proposal.

"We don't elect our local school superintendents," he said. "They are appointed by the board. I feel the State Superintendent should also be appointed."

The question of who should make the appointment is also one that may cause some debate.

"There are those who believe the State Board of Education should make the appointment," said Bassler. "I feel that it should be the Governor. Just as I watch the Legislature and the money that goes to schools and the Governor has very limited control of that money. That is a big chunk of tax money that the Governor right now has no control over."

Bassler believes that the State Board of Education should still maintain a key role in policy decisions.

"If we have a Governor that appoints a Superintendent and they start running education off the rails I would expect the State Board to step in and moderate that," he said. "If it turns out the appointed Superintendent and the Governor come up with bad policies, then the public can vote the Governor out at the next election."

The Washington lawmaker says despite the one-on-one backing he has received, he does not know if his proposal will pass, but he does know the bill will generate a lot of discussion.

"We need a direct line between the Superintendent who is in charge of more than half of the state's money and the Governor," said Bassler. "If this passes it might be the second most significant thing to come out of this session behind the budget."