President Barack Obama is nominating Deborah Delisle, a former Ohio schools’ chief, to be the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education. She would replace Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, who left the department in July to lead the Santa Ana school district, in Orange County, Calif. In the interim, Michael Yudin, who was Ms. Melendez’s deputy, has been filling in.
Ms. Delisle, who will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, served as Ohio superintendent of public instruction from 2008 to 2011 under then-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat. Ms. Delisle, whose state won a coveted Race to the Top grant during her tenure, was essentially forced to resign by Republican Gov. John Kasich.
In her new post, she would be in charge of Title I and most other key K-12 programs.
