Shortly after taking office in January, North Carolina Gov. Beverly E. Perdue set in motion plans to restructure governance of the state鈥檚 K-12 education system. As part of the effort, she pushed for the creation of a chief executive officer to oversee the state department of public instruction, and her hand-picked candidate assumed the job.
The trouble was, North Carolina voters had just elected June Atkinson to a second term as the state schools chief. And while the authority of the elected post had been greatly diminished for years, Atkinson challenged the governor鈥檚 efforts in court as encroaching on her constitutionally defined role.
This past summer, the state superintendent won her case.
The debate in North Carolina certainly wasn鈥檛 the first鈥攁nd won鈥檛 be the last鈥攖ussle over who鈥檚 in charge of education at the state level. The stakes keep getting higher, as pressure for education improvement continues and as states vie for money that will be distributed by the U.S. Department of Education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
An August letter from the National Governors Association signaled the tension over state governance of K-12 education. In the NGA鈥檚 comments on draft guidelines for the federal Education Department鈥檚 $4 billion Race to the Top Fund, part of the economic-stimulus law, the group said some governors objected to a requirement that each state鈥檚 application be endorsed by the president of the state board of education. That could 鈥渓imit gubernatorial prerogatives,鈥� the NGA wrote.
Michael W. Kirst, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, says that governors have long sought to wrest greater authority from state superintendents and boards of education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a one-way vector force, where there鈥檚 continual force for governors to gain control of education policy,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he governors are on the offense, and the people supporting traditional arrangements where education should be separately governed ... are on the defense.鈥�
Governors Seek Influence
Governors, he notes, have pursued both direct and indirect paths to increase their reach in K-12 schooling and beyond. Over the past several years, some governors have seen their influence grow as a result of their active involvement in state P-16 or P-20 councils, he said. Those panels, now in place in most states, bring together actors from various levels of education, preschool to college to graduate study, and often include representatives from state government, business, and the community.
Last year, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick strengthened his hand through several changes, most notably the creation of a Cabinet-level position of secretary of education appointed by him.
In Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland sought legislation in 2008 aimed at enhancing his office鈥檚 influence and making the roles of the state superintendent and board of education largely advisory. Although his plan was not enacted, the effort was widely seen as leading to the resignation of the state鈥檚 longtime schools chief.
The most common method is for state boards of education to appoint the top education official.
SOURCE: Council of Chief State School Oficers
The lines of authority for education at the state level vary nationwide. Whatever the extent of governors鈥� other executive powers, many state constitutions established separate governance structures for the K-12 school system.
To be sure, analysts say, governors may well have some good reasons to want more authority in the K-12 arena.
鈥淕overnors are probably correct when they say people look to them as the leader of a state鈥檚 education system, ... whether they actually have real power or not,鈥� says Paul Manna, an associate professor of government and public policy at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Va.
On the flip side, having some level of independence in state governance structures is often touted as a way to help depoliticize decisionmaking.
David P. Driscoll, who stepped down in 2007 as the Massachusetts commissioner of education, says he sympathizes with governors鈥� desire for more control, but suggests an independent commissioner or board can foster 鈥減ositive tension.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get things done,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut on the other hand, a little difference of opinion can often be a positive thing.鈥�
States use a variety of methods for determining who will serve on the state board of education, how many members it will have, and how the leadership of the panel will be selected.
SOURCE: National Association of State Boards of Education
In North Carolina, the governance debate has been going on for decades.
A 2009 report by the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a think tank in Raleigh, says the system is widely seen as 鈥渁 鈥榝our-headed鈥� monster with unclear and sometimes confusing lines of authority鈥� between the elected state superintendent, the chair of the state board, the governor鈥檚 office, and the deputy superintendent.
Gov. Perdue, a Democrat, tried to take on the matter this year. She signed legislation allowing an education department employee to also serve on the state board. She appointed to the state board Bill Harrison, a longtime local superintendent. Finally, she successfully pressed the board to both elect Harrison as its chairman and hire him as the CEO of the education department.
Chrissy Pearson, the governor鈥檚 press secretary, says the existing state structure 鈥渕ade it difficult for the school system to enjoy a clear line of accountability directly to the governor. ... She feels like the buck stops with her when it comes to education.鈥�
But in a lawsuit in state superior court, Superintendent Atkinson successfully argued that the role given to the new CEO was one the state constitution reserved for the elected superintendent. Harrison has since resigned as CEO, but remains the chairman of the state board.
Changes in Massachusetts
Meanwhile, Gov. Patrick of Massachusetts won strong legislative backing last year for his reorganization plan, which created an executive office of education with a Cabinet-level secretary appointed by the governor to oversee three education departments. The secretary, S. Paul Reville, is a member of the state boards for early education and care, elementary and secondary education, and higher education, and has approval authority over the boards鈥� hiring of commissioners for each agency and of each agency鈥檚 budget.
Patrick, a Democrat, told legislators in January 2008 that his plans would improve coordination across all sectors of education and create 鈥渁 single responsible authority within the coordinated system鈥� to serve as a 鈥渃hief liaison鈥� to his office. 鈥淲e will be able to take swift, synchronized actions, to meet the rapidly evolving demands of the world and economy,鈥� he said.
Related changes to the makeup of the board of elementary and secondary education, including expanding it from nine to 11 members, accelerated the process of having a majority of board members appointed by the governor, observers say.
Jamie Gass, the director of the center for school reform at the Pioneer Institute, a Boston think tank, argues that the changes have greatly diminished the independence of both the K-12 commissioner and the state board. He also suggests the state board鈥檚 influence has waned.
鈥淭he board has really become a theater without an audience,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mostly ceremonial.鈥�
Gass points to a recent controversy over the state鈥檚 consideration of an application to open a new charter school as reinforcing his skepticism about the new governance structure.
In an e-mail made public in September by a Massachusetts newspaper, Reville urged the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, Mitchell D. Chester, earlier this year to back the application for what looked to be political reasons.
鈥淲hat it highlights is precisely the kind of concerns we had about the process being drawn more closely into the governor鈥檚 office,鈥� Gass says. 鈥淚n a way, it鈥檚 an example of how governance has been politicized.鈥�
But in an interview, Reville said that the e-mail was taken out of context and that he was by no means suggesting political calculation should trump the merits of the application. More broadly, Reville argues that under the governance changes, the state board continues to have a 鈥減owerful influence,鈥� and that Chester is an independent actor.
鈥淭he commissioner does not work for me,鈥� he said, 鈥渉e works for the board.鈥�
鈥榃e Should Have Authority鈥�
In Ohio, Gov. Strickland used his to unveil plans to create a 鈥渄irector鈥� post at the state department of education, appointed by him, with 鈥渙versight over all [the agency鈥檚] efforts,鈥� he said. At the same time, the role of the state superintendent and the state board of education would become largely advisory.
The sixth annual Leading for Learning report, funded by The Wallace Foundation, examines the school board鈥檚 role in education leadership.
鈥� Click here to read the full report.
鈥淭he voters will rightly hold us accountable for the education results we produce,鈥� he told lawmakers at the time. 鈥淭herefore, we should have authority over the management of the department of education.鈥�
鈥淕overnor Strickland came in, and he had his own agenda and wanted his own people to help push it through,鈥� says Terry Ryan, the vice president for Ohio programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
The legislature did not adopt the governor鈥檚 restructuring plans, but his efforts were widely seen as leading Susan Tave Zelman, who was appointed Ohio鈥檚 superintendent by the state education board in 1999, to step down last year. And the board apparently worked with Strickland to name a successor, Deborah S. Delisle, more to his liking.
The governor, a Democrat, has made headway with plans to revamp the K-12 system. He worked with the legislature to overhaul the state鈥檚 school funding approach and lay the groundwork for revisions to its standards, assessments, and accountability system.
As for Strickland鈥檚 proposed changes to state governance of education, Ryan says the governor appears to have gained enough influence to let the plan drop: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just disappeared off the agenda.鈥�
