Earlier this month Governor Gregoire proposed major reorganization of the state's education system, including changes to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). One of the biggest questions under her proposal is should OSPI remain an elected office or instead be appointed by the Governor. Under bills introduced by Senator Tom, OSPI would become an appointed office.

SJR 8212 and SB 5522 would implement the restructuring of OSPI as a cabinet agency.

Sen. Tom's proposals are scheduled for a public hearing next Wednesday (2/2) at 8 a.m. before the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee.

Responding to the Governor's education reform plan, Randy Dorn (Head of OSPI) had this reaction (in-part):

". . . this isn’t a new idea. I’ve been a legislator, and every governor I’ve known has wanted more power. They’ve tried to abolish offices. That is not in our Constitution. Ours is direct election by the citizens of this great state.

The governor can create any staff position she wants. Her proposal, however, would require the State Superintendent to report to a new Secretary of Education. I am an elected official: my boss is the people of this state, not the Governor. That is state law, explicit in Article III of the State Constitution. Would the Governor also suggest that the other elected officials report to a Governor-appointed official?"

It will be interesting to see if Dorn's testimony on Tom's bills reflects his reaction to the Governor's proposal or instead his comments when he was a candidate that were in favor of making OSPI an appointed versus elected office. Here are Dorn's comments back in 2008:

Dorn's counterparts are appointed in 36 states.

Education policy is complicated enough without having two members of the executive branch sometimes pursuing conflicting strategies and sending mixed signals to the Legislature and citizens. The changes proposed by Sen. Tom would address the diffused accountability under the current system.

Hopefully the conversation on elected versus appointed offices will not be limited to OSPI.

Today, eight of Washington’s statewide elected officials are autonomous of the Governor. In practice they can lobby the Legislature independently, and even work against what the Governor is trying to accomplish.

The current budget crisis has provided an opportunity to have a conversation about the state's governance structure and how best to move forward with a 21st Century government that is effective, efficient and accountable.

As we recommended in 2008, we believe the statewide elected offices (excluding the Supreme Court) should be limited to:

   1. Governor and Lieutenant Governor (joint ticket)
   2. Attorney General
   3. State Treasurer
   4. State Auditor

The other offices should become part of the Governor's cabinet and be appointed, perhaps subject to Senate confirmation.

If problems arise with public education, insurance regulation, or management of public lands, voters would know that the solution lies with the Governor, who could change the top managers of these policy areas at any time. If the Governor fails to use his or her appointment powers to improve the management of these departments, voters could take that failure into account at election time.