Education

State Journal: Alaska shake; Superfluit

January 23, 1991 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Gov. Walter J. Hickel of Alaska, an upset winner last November as an independent candidate, has been shaking up the state’s education establishment in his first two months in office.

Mr. Hickel, 71, who also was Governor from 1966 to 1969, was elected on a promise to cut the size of the state bureaucracy.

Within two weeks of his inauguration in December, the Governor demanded the resignations of the entire state board of education, saying he wanted a “fresh start.”

One of the duties of the board is to select a new state education commissioner, but its choice $5 requires the approval of the governor. The ousted board had settled on Richard S. Cross, a district superintendent from the Fairbanks area, to replace William Demmert, who left last year for Stanford University.

Governor Hickel apparently did not agree with the choice of Mr. Cross, so the selection process will begin again with the new " board, which he named this month.

One of the seven new board members is Jack E. Phelps, a clergyman and the president of the state’s Private and Home Educators’ Association.

Observers said Governor Hickel’s appointment of Mr. Phelps was a further sign of his , interest, expressed during his campaign, in creating a . voucher system for Alaska education that would allow parents to use public funds to send their children to private 2 schools.

The Governor has not put 54 forth any formal proposal for vouchers as yet, however, according to a spokesman.

Gov. Gaston Caperton of 9 West Virginia, meanwhile, is calling for abolition of a state education position he created two years ago.

As part of a sweeping plan for reorganizing state government, Mr. Caperton in 1989 appointed a secretary of education and the arts, who was to have oversight over all state education programs and veto power over the state school

Curbing the autonomy of the state board, however, involved a constitutional change that had to be approved by the voters.

When voters rejected the referendum in September 1989, the secretary was left with little power over elementary and secondary education.

Although the secretary, Steve Haid, helped to reorganize higher-education governance, state officials decided they could do without the position after he left it last month.

Mr. Caperton did not elaborate in his State of the State Address this month on his request to abolish the post. But aides said it had become “superfluous."--mw & hd

A version of this article appeared in the January 23, 1991 edition of Education Week as State Journal: Alaska shake; Superfluit

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 17, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read