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Published on Thursday, Apr 03, 2008
By last week, the governor was backpedaling. He told the Gongwer News Service he had been quoted accurately. He suggested the problem was that his words didn't capture precisely what he was thinking.
Actually, Zelman deserves credit for pushing the state forward in primary and secondary education. The state has implemented academic standards and other improvements reflected in Ohio students scoring much higher than 10 years ago in comparison to their peers in other states. More, Zelman knows exactly what the state must do to ensure that it has world-class primary and secondary schools. She put the promising Achieve report on the governor's desk.
So what's the problem?
Strickland rightly has stuck with his assessment that Zelman, whatever her many strengths, isn't the leader necessary to drive further the cause of reform, especially in view of the work ahead in the political realm. The governor wants a director of education, accountable to his office (not the state school board). He has seen the model work in higher education, with Eric Fingerhut as chancellor.
The governor has proposed an awkward bureaucratic compromise, the new director having clout, the board and superintendent remaining in advisory roles. The better course would be a constitutional change. If that is unreachable, lawmakers and the governor must find a way to make the current structure more responsive and effective. After all, Ohio has a governor who stresses his desire to take responsibility for improving the quality and funding of public schools.
Get the full article here.
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