Kansas schools need a czar

Andy Tompkins left his job as Kansas’ education commissioner in June and public schools opened in August, yet the State Board of Education continues to struggle to decide even how to replace him, let alone with whom. It deadlocked on two candidates in June. Then board members reportedly spent four hours in closed sessions Wednesday discussing how to rank candidates, with the conservative majority prevailing in a misguided move to value political or business credentials as highly as education experience. (Member Connie Morris had even wanted to give noneducation credentials five times the weight of other factors.) Tompkins is a tough act to follow, but this is getting ridiculous.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

4 Comments

  1. Joe Williams
    Posted September 11, 2005 at 10:32 am | Permalink

    That is sad!

    I’ve been advocating this for some time, but they need to suspend the Board of Education and go with a Secretary of Education appointed by the governor to run the school system.

  2. Val
    Posted September 12, 2005 at 12:36 am | Permalink

    I applied for the job, but was turned down because I’m not a female, transexual slave descendent with native southwestern American blood and a Spanish surname on my teaching doctorate credentials. I even offered to become a member of the teacher unions.

    I’m calling the ACLU next.

  3. JUSTA GUY
    Posted September 12, 2005 at 6:04 am | Permalink

    For god’s sake not another appointee, give Connie a toke or two and pick a person who can take charge of the situation. I am thinking that an accountant might have the proper background.

  4. Jed
    Posted September 12, 2005 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    Just how is adding another layer of bureaucracy supposed to fix the problem?Why not simply eliminate the school board and let the state’s universities set the curriculum and budget, since they are the ones that will have to deal with the results?