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Since Board Shakeup, A New Addition To State Education Meetings: Calm

Kyle Stokes
/
http://indianapublicmedia.org/stateimpact/

Six weeks after a reboot of the State Board of Education, a detente between board members and state school superintendent Glenda Ritz appears to be holding.

Five of the board‘s 10 appointed members started last month, under a law transferring two board appointments to legislative leaders, and allowing Governor Pence to decide whether to keep or jettison the rest.

The first two meetings with the new lineup have had none of the acrimony of the preceding two years.   Ritz says she expects the good feeling to continue.

She says she can‘t speculate on whether the newfound calm reflects the membership change, a desire to start over, or something else, but says turning over half the board‘s roster can‘t help but alter the dynamics.

But Ritz says she still believes the superintendent should continue to automatically serve as board chairman. The same law which shook up the board‘s membership also calls for the board to elect its chairman, starting in 2017.

Ritz argues having an elected official in charge of the board creates a bridge to the legislature, and sends the message that the superintendent is in charge of the education process. She‘s urging repeal of the change before it takes effect.

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