BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick today unveiled a plan to reorganize the state’s education offices into “a seamless system” within a cabinet-level secretariat of education.
“There is no greater gateway to opportunity and success than a first-rate education,” Patrick said. “This reorganization – along with the work of the Readiness Project – will guide us through the next phase of education reform, to ensure all of our children are ready to compete in the global economy.”
His proposal – outlined in legislation the governor said he would file today under Article 87 of the Massachusetts Constitution – would create an Executive Office of Education.
The new office would oversee the existing Department of Early Education and Care; the current Department of Education, which would be renamed the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and a new Department of Higher Education, which would include personnel from the current Board of Higher Education.
The boards corresponding to each of the three departments would each be expanded by two seats – one of which would go to the new Secretary of Education, who would be installed as a voting member of each board. The governor’s proposal also would stagger the terms of board members, so a fixed number of appointments come up each year, and remove the peer commissioners from each board. The boards’ other powers would remain unchanged.
The new Education Secretary would have authority to approve the commissioner of each board; would be given a voting seat on the board of the University of Massachusetts, as well as each of the three education boards; and would approve all budgets, capital outlay requests, mission statements and five-year master plans for each of the three education boards and the state institutions of higher education.
The measure also would give the governor the authority to appoint the chair of the UMass board.
“After 15 years since the last major reform in the states education system, I believe the Commonwealth is ready for change and new ideas,” said Sen. Robert A. Antonioni, Senate chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education. “The governor’s plan, featuring the new secretariat, affords us the opportunity to bring the Commonwealth into a new era of achievement and success,” added the panel’s House chair, Rep. Patricia A. Haddad.
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“I am hopeful that the creation of an Education Secretary will help better coordinate our efforts to promote greater educational achievement in the Commonwealth and encourage more cohesion and increased accountability in the system,” said House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, who called the governor’s proposal “the result of months of cooperative work between Governor Patrick and legislative leaders.” The plan “strikes an appropriate balance between maintaining stability in our schools and positioning ourselves to meet the immediate challenges before us,” DiMasi said.
“The Readiness Project is working to develop a long-term strategic plan for improving our education system, but that work alone is not enough,” said project co-chair Joe Tucci. “The governor’s central-governance proposal is important to ensure that we have the structure in place to act on those recommendations. As we do in the business world, we need to make sure that accountability is aligned with authority.”
Under Article 87, the Legislature has 60 days to approve or reject the governor’s proposal, without amendment.
Additional news and information from the governor’s office is available at www.mass.gov.
