Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has not yet announced a replacement for his education secretary, Alan D. Bersin, who stepped down following the governor’s re-election last month.
Mr. Bersin had drawn national attention in his previous job as the superintendent of the San Diego city school district for seven years. Many education policy observers liked his school reform program and his support for charter schools, but he often tangled with the San Diego teachers’ union.
He has received similar mixed reviews for his less than two-year tenure as state education secretary, a largely advisory position. While the California Teachers Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association, viewed Mr. Bersin as mostly ineffective, others said he was influential in winning passage of important legislation, including a new law that allows low-performing schools to turn away teachers who have poor performance records at their previous schools. (“Calif. Restricts Teacher Transfers,” Oct. 25, 2006.)
