Over the next year, seven long-serving state schools chiefs are scheduled to step down, taking with them a combined 77 years of leadership experience and leaving questions about the evolving role of a state鈥檚 top education officer.
The reasons for their departures vary, including policy conflicts with governors, term limits, and the simple desire for a change after years at the helm of a state education agency.
But the turnover comes at a precarious time for public schools, with state budgets in turmoil, the federal No Child Left Behind Act in flux, and education, as always, a contentious political issue.
At one time, the primary responsibility of a state chief was ensuring fiscal responsibility and oversight of state and federal resources, said Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the Washington-based Council of Chief State School Officers.
Here are the state schools chiefs, ranked by length of service.
Source: Council of Chief State School Officers
Now, he said, state superintendents and commissioners of education are expected to be 鈥渢ransformational leaders鈥� capable of fixing public school systems that may be plagued by high dropout rates and big achievement gaps.
鈥淭hese problems almost seem intractable, but the role of the chief is to do something about it,鈥� said Mr. Wilhoit, a former chief in Kentucky and Arkansas.
The list of departing schools chiefs includes Rhode Island鈥檚 Peter J. McWalters, Indiana鈥檚 Suellen K. Reed, and Ohio鈥檚 Susan Tave Zelman, who all have had conflicts with their governors鈥攁lthough the degree to which these conflicts affected their decisions to step aside varied.
Nebraska鈥檚 Douglas D. Christensen is retiring to protest the legislature鈥檚 decision to switch from locally controlled student testing to a state test, which he has adamently opposed. (鈥淣ebraska Education Sees Policy, Leadership Shifts,鈥� April 30, 2008.)
Richard Cate, of Vermont, is leaving later this month after 4陆 years because Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, and the legislature are trying to turn the position into a cabinet-level secretary appointed by the governor.
Montana鈥檚 Linda McCulloch can鈥檛 run for re-election because of term limits, and Delaware鈥檚 Valerie Woodruff, who is a member of the governor鈥檚 cabinet, will leave when Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner does in January.
In addition, Lana C. Seivers left in February after five years as Tennessee鈥檚 education commissioner to lead a new foundation in Mississippi.
Collectively, this group of state education leaders helped usher in the standards and accountability movement in their states and the implementation of the 6-year-old NCLB law, which meant crucial new duties for their departments even as many of their own budgets were being squeezed.
The departures will leave just 14 chiefs with more than five years of experience, according to the CCSSO. (North Dakota鈥檚 Wayne G. Sanstead tops the seniority list, with 23 years in the job; he鈥檚 running for re-election this year.)
鈥淭he job is a lot more political now. Everyone wants to have a say in education,鈥� said Mr. Wilhoit. 鈥淭he chiefs are all operating under an 鈥榚ducation governor鈥� who has a sense of impatience because [a governor鈥檚] life is measured in four-year cycles.鈥�
Paul Manna, an assistant professor of government at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Va., who studies education governance, said some early research he鈥檚 conducted suggests a link between student achievement and the longevity of a chief. He added that more research is needed.
鈥淲e found that there was some benefit to chiefs鈥� remaining in office for a while, but there was some sort of tipping point where the benefits start declining,鈥� said Mr. Manna, who compared scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress dating back to 1992 against turnover in state chiefs鈥� offices.
Rivals for Influence
More than ever, some chiefs say, they must compete for influence with a growing crowd of those wanting to remake the schools, including business leaders, philanthropists, lobbyists, teachers鈥� unions, and the general public.
Things can get even more complicated for chiefs depending on how they come to office and who their boss is: About one-third are elected, one-third are appointed by state boards, and the other third are appointed by governors.
鈥淚 think, as chiefs, you鈥檙e not a leader unless you can navigate the political minefield. It鈥檚 becoming more and more partisan,鈥� said Mr. Christensen, who was first appointed by his state鈥檚 education board in December 1994 and is now making good on his vow to quit the job if Nebraska ever went to a state test.
Last year, the unicameral, nonpartisan legislature approved a uniform, statewide testing system that eventually could replace Nebraska鈥檚 unique system of district-level tests.
鈥淪ometimes, we鈥檙e forgetting that we鈥檙e first educators,鈥� Mr. Christensen said of the chiefs. 鈥淲e鈥檝e lost at the table.鈥�
From many of the departing chiefs鈥� points of view, the most aggressive education activists during their terms have been governors.
Rhode Island鈥檚 Mr. McWalters, who is set to leave next June after 16 years in office, said that NCLB鈥攁nd the publicity surrounding schools identified as not meeting their achievement goals鈥攈elped push governors into action.
鈥淚f their state is going to be branded, then they want more and more access to the conversation,鈥� said Mr. McWalters, who was appointed by the state board. 鈥淵ou have governors becoming more aggressive.鈥�
And it鈥檚 not just governors, he said.
鈥淣ow, you literally have governors, mayors, and presidents who are hanging their reputations on education,鈥� he said.
Assertive Governors
The high stakes have prompted some governors to seek more control鈥攁nd have helped push some chiefs out.
In February, Ohio鈥檚 Ms. Zelman found out mere hours before Gov. Ted Strickland鈥檚 that he would seek to strip the chief鈥檚 position and the state board of education of most of their authority so he could name his own education secretary. The Ohio commissioner is currently hired by the state board.
鈥淚 was very taken aback,鈥� Ms. Zelman, who took office in March 1999 and whose resignation is effective in December, said last week. 鈥淚 believe the state superintendent should work in partnership with the governor. ... It was clear to me this wasn鈥檛 going to be a very good partnership.鈥�
She hopes Gov. Strickland, a Democrat, will have a hand in picking her successor and drop his plans to change the overall education governance structure. 鈥淚 believe in an apolitical state board of education, in what鈥檚 good for the children as opposed to what鈥檚 good for a governor,鈥� she said.
But governors must play a key role in education if states, and the country, are going to experience economic growth and the creation of good jobs, said former North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., a Democrat.
鈥淭he truth is, the chiefs have had to carry the water through the years, and it鈥檚 natural when a governor comes along who wants to be active that there could be a little tension,鈥� said Mr. Hunt, now the chairman of the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ms. Reed, Indiana鈥檚 elected Republican state chief, is working with her fourth governor and decided to not seek a fifth term so she could pursue other opportunities in the private sector. Over her tenure, she sought to work with both political parties, but was sometimes criticized for working too closely with Democrats and not more enthusiastically embracing her own party鈥檚 proposals.
This year, speculation mounted that Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican who has advocated switching the position to an appointed one, would not support her if she sought re-election. And Ms. Reed said she sees the governor鈥檚 point of view: 鈥淲hatever happens on their watch, people will drag it out at election time whether they鈥檙e directly responsible or not.鈥�
In some ways, state education chiefs have an image problem.
鈥淐ommissioners and state departments look as if they are part of the old institutional incapacity,鈥� said Mr. McWalters, who has not always seen eye to eye with Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican.
鈥楥ritical Role鈥� Seen
But state education agencies, sometimes called SEAs, remain a vital element in education reform, said Dane Linn, the director of the education division of the National Governors Association鈥檚 Center for Best Practices.
鈥淚f we are ever going to improve student achievement, that鈥檚 got to start at the state level,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd the SEA must play a critical role not just in monitoring district compliance with state and federal regulations, but also in building capacity in districts.鈥�
Mr. Wilhoit, of the state chiefs鈥� council, said chiefs have accepted the premise of the NCLB law and are ready for the next phase, to redesign assessments and to discover new ways of recruiting and supporting better teachers.
The philosophical shift in the role of state education departments has prompted the chiefs to refocus their missions, while state budget cuts that have not spared education departments have forced more restructuring.
In Indiana, Ms. Reed said she鈥檚 had to rely on getting more work done through contract employees, rather than adding staff. In Nebraska, Mr. Christensen got rid of middle managers to save money and ensure faster, more responsive decisionmaking.
The next class of state chiefs will face uncertain economic times, new governors in some states, a new president in Washington, and a No Child Left Behind law that is overdue for reauthorization. At the same time, global competition is increasing, and political and business leaders are linking the quality of public schools to the country鈥檚 economic health.
鈥淚n some ways, the stakes are higher,鈥� Ms. Zelman, of Ohio, said.
If the NCLB law鈥檚 accountability system is not revised, the chiefs who serve in the coming years will have to deal with higher achievement targets and longer lists of failing schools, said Delaware鈥檚 Ms. Woodruff. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 envy people coming in,鈥� she said.
And still other chiefs see a bigger, broader problem.
鈥淚 worry most about the demand for leadership, which has never been as great,鈥� Mr. Christensen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost crisis level, yet the space for it is getting squeezed out. Everyone is demanding a piece of leadership, but they don鈥檛 know a damned thing about how to use it, whether they be governors, legislators, and even educators.鈥�
