Some state lawmakers say Gov.-elect Eric Holcomb’s proposal to make Indiana’s school chief an appointed position is worth discussing, but isn’t an important education priority in the 2017 legislative session.
“I guess I could be convinced that’s a good idea,” Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, minority leader in the Indiana Senate, said on Friday. But “I wouldn’t describe it as the highest priority.”
Currently, voters separately elect a Superintendent of Public Instruction to run the Indiana Department of Education.
Only 12 states elect their top educators, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education. In other states, the position is a gubernatorial appointment, or it’s filled by a state board of education.
Holcomb wants to make the position the governor’s choice beginning in 2021, which will allow Jennifer McCormick, Indiana’s new Superintendent of Public Instruction, to complete her four-year term of office.
“This is not about the person, me or the superintendent,” Indiana Public Media quoted Holcomb as saying last week. “This is about the position and how they can be aligned to work truly together.”
McCormick, a Republican, acknowledged in a statement the decision would be a difficult one for legislators and their constituents.
“I do not view this as a personal reflection of my ability or willingness to effectively work with the governor,” she said. “While I value the notion of a separation of powers between the governor and state superintendent, I fully recognize that the governor and state superintendent must work collaboratively.”
What troubles Lanane and Rep. Melanie Wright, D-Yorktown — a Daleville Community Schools music teacher — is that making the state superintendent’s position an appointed one would mean voters and the public would no longer have a say in the direction of public education.
“As a policy matter, the public’s voice in public education is important,” said Lanane. And the only way they can weigh in on that policy direction is through meeting candidates and vetting their qualifications for the job.
That was clearly demonstrated in 2012, when Democrat Glenda Ritz won an upset victory over Republican Tony Bennett, Lanane said.
“I may be old-fashioned about this, but I think having voters choose the superintendent of public instruction creates more of a check and balance,” Wright said. “I would like voters to have a say in this.”
House Republicans could file as early as this week a bill authored by House Speaker Brian Bosma to make the change.