Our governor wants his hands on education policy by adding a new position to his cabinet.
Patrick, who plans to announce the legislation Thursday, will also seek to expand membership of state boards that oversee education from pre-school through college. Sources said the boards of education (nine members), early education (nine members) and higher education (11 members) would become 13-member bodies under the legislation.Aides to Patrick declined to comment on the legislation, which has been in the works for several months. If the changes are implemented, Patrick would significantly enhance his control over education policy as he launches the next phase of public school reform in Massachusetts.
The governor has launched an initiative he calls the “Readiness Project” to examine all aspects of the educational system, including financing, standardized testing, the length of the school day, charter schools, early education and special education.
For someone who has done a lousy job as governor, I don't see how giving him more control over education policy could be a good thing. The only thing it will do is add more layers of bureaucracy to something that should be void of it--and not only that, we can certainly expect exorbitantly high government salaries for a few more hacks to accomplish nothing to help education.