Ohio school-board president wants smaller role for panel

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The head of the state school board recommended smaller roles for the panel he leads and the state superintendent, citing faults with the existing governance structure and concerns over too many groups having a hand in crafting Ohio education policy.

“The current governance structure is simply not working,” board President Tom Gunlock told a committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission on Thursday.

Gunlock said there are too many groups trying to create education policy, including the governor, legislature and the state board, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The board, made up of 11 elected members and eight appointed by the governor, has become more partisan in recent years, making it difficult for the superintendent, Gunlock said.

“I know when the state board was created, it was to get politics out of education, but that’s no longer going on,” he said.

Gunlock recommended the state board stay in existence with a reduced number of seats and a more limited set of duties. He proposed creating a second board appointed by the governor to handle education policy.

The committee didn’t take action on Gunlock’s recommendation, but Chad Readler, chairman of the Education, Public Institutions and Local Government Committee, said he shares concern over the structure and promised more discussion.

“The board is struggling,” Ron Rudduck, a board member, said. “It’s changed over the years because of the authority assumed by the legislature.”

The board is searching for its fourth superintendent since 2008. Richard Ross retired from the post last month.