Dive Brief:
- The Alabama State Board of Education has selected Michael Sentance to be the next state superintendent, leaving many in shock over his lack of educator credentials.
- The Alabama Political Reporter writes Sentance applied for similar positions in Wyoming, Kentucky, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska and Ohio, following time in Massachusetts state government and the U.S. Department of Education.
- Lawmakers are already calling for an investigation of Sentance’s selection process, and educators in the state are reportedly confused and betrayed by the outcome.
Dive Insight:
At the higher education level, college and university boards have begun selecting presidents with business or legislative backgrounds more often to use their expertise in budget decisions and their lobbying power in fights with state government. In North Carolina, former education secretary Margaret Spellings now leads the UNC system, and her political experience was seen as a major draw. There, too, however, faculty members across the state questioned her ability to lead a university, having never worked in one. The same was true at the University of Iowa when businessman J. Bruce Harreld was appointed last fall.
In the K-12 system, it is very uncommon to see non-educators getting top spots at state departments of education. Policy expertise is important in decision-making, but informing that with experience in the classroom is considered a must in many circles. That is likely why Sentance was rejected for the top job in six other states.