The Oregon State Legislature passed SB 1581 in 2012 establishing the position of Oregon Chief Education Officer. Governor John Kitzhaber issued a statement that outlined what could be accomplished by this officer. Rudy Crew was hired to be that officer. Now, Mr. Crew is leaving less than a year after taking the job. No one should be surprised by this development given the record of Mr. Crew's previous employment. There must be a good joke in this situation, but I don't have the wit to create one.
Mr. Crew's departure is no loss. He barely made his presence felt as an advocate for the adequate funding of K-12 education. I also don't think that I've heard anything from Deputy Superintendent of Public Education, Rob Saxton, about K-12 funding either. Is this due to the fact that the governor is also the Superintendent of Public Education? Perhaps Mr. Crew and Mr. Saxton did/do not have the freedom to advocate as they might have wanted to since they essentially serve(d) at the governor's pleasure. The last elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susan Castillo, was hardly effective, but she had some measure of independence since she was directly elected by the voters of Oregon.
Here are a couple of suggestions for action now that Mr. Crew is leaving:
1. Do not fill the position of Chief Education Officer. The state legislature should go further and eliminate the position entirely. It is a superfluous job that can be handled by the Deputy Superintendent.
2. Make the office of Superintendent of Public Education an elected office. This would restore the possibility of having a state superintendent who could act as an independent and vigorous advocate for K-12 education responsible to the voters, not the governor.
Now I have two closing remarks:
1. I am ready to accept an offer by Governor Kitzhaber to be Chief Education Officer if he decides to fill the vacancy. I can promise that I would stick around to do the job since my wife and I have no desire to move out of state.
2. I'm prepared to throw my hat in the ring if and when the office of Superintendent of Public Education is made an elected office.
I'm not joking.
Mr. Crew's departure is no loss. He barely made his presence felt as an advocate for the adequate funding of K-12 education. I also don't think that I've heard anything from Deputy Superintendent of Public Education, Rob Saxton, about K-12 funding either. Is this due to the fact that the governor is also the Superintendent of Public Education? Perhaps Mr. Crew and Mr. Saxton did/do not have the freedom to advocate as they might have wanted to since they essentially serve(d) at the governor's pleasure. The last elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susan Castillo, was hardly effective, but she had some measure of independence since she was directly elected by the voters of Oregon.
Here are a couple of suggestions for action now that Mr. Crew is leaving:
1. Do not fill the position of Chief Education Officer. The state legislature should go further and eliminate the position entirely. It is a superfluous job that can be handled by the Deputy Superintendent.
2. Make the office of Superintendent of Public Education an elected office. This would restore the possibility of having a state superintendent who could act as an independent and vigorous advocate for K-12 education responsible to the voters, not the governor.
Now I have two closing remarks:
1. I am ready to accept an offer by Governor Kitzhaber to be Chief Education Officer if he decides to fill the vacancy. I can promise that I would stick around to do the job since my wife and I have no desire to move out of state.
2. I'm prepared to throw my hat in the ring if and when the office of Superintendent of Public Education is made an elected office.
I'm not joking.
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