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Thomas Resigns as California's Secretary of Education after Turbulent Year in Sacramento
California State Secretary of Education Glen W. Thomas announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Secretary of Education. Thomas cited family reasons for his decision. “It has been the highest honor to serve the Governor, but family is always first priority,” said Thomas. “My 96-year-old mother is not well. Twenty-four years ago I cared for my father, and I told my mother that when the time came I would do the same for her. I am therefore stepping down to tend to my mother. I thank the Governor for this opportunity to serve the people of California.” Governor Schwarzenegger said “Glen has been a wonderful public servant during his tenure as Secretary of Education. From helping California win landmark reforms to improve our schools and make us highly competitive for President Obama's Race to the Top funding competition to his work on my first-in-the-nation Digital Textbooks Initiative, Glen has given this position his all and I thank him for his dedication. I wish Glen all the best as he leaves his post to spend more time with his family.” Thomas was appointed as California’s Secretary of Education on January 21, 2009. He took a few minutes on Thursday to review his year in office with EdBrief. Thomas acknowledged that when he accepted the job a year ago, he knew there would be many issues to deal with. “I think during challenging economic times, it’s important for leaders to stand up straight and exert leadership. When the Governor asked me (to take the job), I was glad to do it.” Thomas reflected on several accomplishments “We went aggressively after federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), we were the first state to apply and the first state to be funded for ARRA. And then we pushed that money right out to districts to try to save teachers jobs.” Thomas added that “The Governor understood that districts needed a lot of flexibility, so he consolidated a number of categorical programs, giving school boards the maximum flexibility in balancing their budgets. That was challenging (for them) initially, but now a lot of them really appreciate it. It restores a degree of local control for local school boards. That’s a path that we’re on that I hope we’ll see state and federal government continue on.” “The Governor is also very strong on early learning, he signed several bills to improve the quality of pre-K learning experiences,” Thomas said. These bills relate to the Early Learning Quality Improvement System – Thomas has been co-chair of the program’s advisory committee. “It’s very important in this state, we have a very extensive early childhood population, but the quality (of existing programs) is very uneven,” Thomas said. “Because of that effort, California is now qualifying for an influx of federal dollars for pre-K programs.” “The Governor is very big on technology,” Thomas continued. “In spite of our limited budget, he decided to push out with a free digital textbook initiative, which gained worldwide press. We were the first state to post a number of high school math and science textbooks on the web that are downloadable and customizable, for free. Those are being piloted right now in some areas. It gives more options to teachers, parents and students. We found we could do that, even with no money.” “Then when Race to the Top (RTTT) came along, the Governor was very quick to seize on that as an opportunity for California,” Thomas concluded. “Initially, California wasn’t eligible, with our data file situation. Eventually the Governor called a special legislative session in August to focus on RTTT. A number of bills were passed, which not only made California eligible, but potentially very competitive. And this was done under a very tight time frame. We put together a very forward looking (RTTT) application.” “With RTTT, we felt all along during our conversations with federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and the Governor’s meeting with President Obama, that RTTT was going to foreshadow the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – and now the President has announced that this is indeed the plan. So those criticisms that were made early on – that RTTT was one-time money, and not enough money . . . Well, the point is that we now have the opportunity to improve policies in California, and this is where the Feds are going to go, so what we did puts us in the right place.” “I feel very good about what we’ve done,” Thomas said. He mentioned that he will be focusing on caring for his 96-year-old mother. “I want to make the most of her time left on this earth.” The Governor's Administration will begin actively looking for a qualified replacement immediately. Editor’s Note: Jeff Hudson is the editor of EdBrief and an award-winning education reporter and writer in print, radio and television media. |
