When California children were stuck at home on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and schools opened unevenly across the state, raising concerns about justice, frustrated parents demanded action from

Chief Inspector Sup.

of public instruction Tony Thurmond.

But unlike some other states where superintendents were in charge, Gov. Gavin Newsom who drove the pandemic response in California, negotiated with teacher unions and drafted guidelines for schools. Meanwhile, Thurmond was criticized for a lack of action.

Now, two years after the governor and legislative leaders devised a multibillion-dollar plan to safely reopen schools,

COVID

-19 frustrations could accelerate a decades-long debate about the role

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from California

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overseer of

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public

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instruction.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) has introduced legislation requiring California’s superintendent to be appointed by the governor rather than elected by voters,

in what he mentioned

a “good government” policy

he said that

could add power and influence to an office overseeing nearly 6 million public school students.

McCarty said Thurmond has run the state schools “admirably” and been “an effective voice” but that’s not enough, calling the role “nothing more than a cheerleader for education.”

“The public saw crystal clear during the pandemic that what school districts and parents and educators thought the superintendent can do is not the reality,” McCarty said. “They are very limited in their legal authority.”

The successSuccess

of Constitutional Amendment 9 of the ACA Assembly requiring voter approval because it would change the state

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The Constitution would add California to a list of 38 states where superintendents are appointed rather than elected.

Thurmond opposes the bill and the politically influential teacher unions that supported him are about to do the same.

If approved by two-thirds of the legislature and by voters on the ballot, the bill would take effect in 2027 after Thurmond’s final term ends. The measure would prohibit an election for the superintendent from being held in 2026. The potential appointee would “serve at the pleasure of” the governor, with confirmation required by the state legislature, according to the bill.

Thurmond, a former Democratic state legislator, ran for re-election last year with more than 60% of the vote against his Republican opponent Lance

Christensen

despite controversy during his first term, including a staff turnover issue amid allegations of toxic workplaces. His decision to quietly hire a friend who lives out of state as a top executive in 2021 led to at least two layoffs from the California Department of Education.

Thurmond said in a statement that ACA 9 would “take away voter selection and take away an independent voice for education.”

McCarty, who serves on education committees in the state legislature, said he himself is not interested in the role of superintendent.

Chief Inspector of

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public

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instruction, the only impartial position under California

eight

constitutional officials statewide, has long been described as toothless and ceremonial.

The superintendent oversees the operation of the California Department of Education, but l

local school officials

control much of what happens in the 1,000+ school districts, and in many ways the governor

other

the legislature has more power over education policy. The State Board of Education acts as a policy

also make body, adopt textbooks and academic standards.

The debate over whether the role should be an elected or appointed position has been going on for decades. “Again, the question of how the state superintendent of public education will be elected is news on the California political front,” said a report published in 1963 by the California Assembly.

Heather Hough, executive director of Policy Analysis of California Education, a nun

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partisan research center at Stanford University, said it makes sense that the chaos of the pandemic has brought this debate back into the public domain, a time when the superintendent’s office received more attention than it has seen in its decades of policy work.

“I think the pandemic has really exposed it to the public in a way that wasn’t before, how there isn’t a lot of positional authority in that role, which then begs the question: Why don’t we have an elected official like that position? has the ability to lead?” she said. “The way it’s built now in California is largely an administrative function.”

Supporters of the superintendent being an appointed post say that politicians should not seek the position

,

but qualified school administrators.

Appointment by the administration could provide a better guarantee of “broad”.

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scale change,” said Megan Bacigalupi, executive director of California Parent Power, a national advocacy organization founded at the height of the pandemic that focuses on transparency in schools.

“Now there’s a disconnect between the two offices, and that’s a disservice to California students,” she said.

California Department of Education deputy superintendent Malia Vella said Thurmond has been a prolific superintendent, pointing to legislation he has sponsored on issues such as universal kindergarten and additional school counselors. Vella said he was instrumental in supporting schools during the pandemic, including fighting for access to COVID-19 testing.

That work would be “curtailed,” she said, if future superintendents are appointed rather than elected.

“I think the legislative and budget process works best when you have an independently elected official who focuses solely on education,” Vella said.

California Teachers Ass

location

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spokesperson Claudia Briggs said the union has not yet taken an official position on the bill

pointed out

that it has resisted similar efforts in the past, “doesn’t want to take that choice away from parents and voters.”

Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, said: “

W

e support democracy in our public education system.”

ACA 9 would allow the governor to choose how long a superintendent serves; Currently, the position is limited to two four-year terms like other constitutional officials statewide.

Connie Leyva, a former Democratic Assemblyman

m

ember, has expressed interest

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in the running for state superintendent in 2026. Now executive director of KVCR, at the NPR station in the Inland Empire,

Levya Leiva

said she has not yet decided whether to run, but she strongly opposes McCarty’s bill.

“At a time when we need more citizen engagement and strengthening democracy, why take away and appoint an elected position? I don’t feel like it,” she said. “I always feel that appointments lend themselves to political favoritism.”

Delaine Eastin, a Democrat who served as state superintendent from 1995-2003, said ACA 9 would diminish an independent role in a state where education accounts for at least 40% of the budget each year. The superintendent should act as a stronger advocate for public school students, not a soldier for the governor, she said.

“If any constitutional official other than the governor needs to be elected, that’s the [superintendent of public instruction]’, she said. “I really believe the superintendent should be someone who is a voice for the kids and their education and not just interacting with the governor.”