The Chamber Board of Directors’ policy is to support local control of school operational decision making. The action today by the State Board of Education doesn't improve that principle, instead continuing the onerous administrative burden for those School Boards that choose a superintendent who lacks classroom experience. We applaud SBOE member Ken Mercer for voting correctly on this policy.

Clearly, the SBOE action is not the end of the world. School boards can still hire excellent superintendents like Fort Bend (and former Pflugerville) superintendent Charles Dupre and San Antonio's Pedro Martinez, who didn't teach in the classroom but bring a wealth of other experience. The good news is that we expect an amended version of this policy to come back before the SBOE school board which eliminates the teaching requirement for superintendent certification. We are much more hopeful of its success.

Earlier this year, representatives from the Austin Chamber's Education Council met with the Texas Education Agency to discuss these views.

Comments on Behalf of Drew Scheberle, SVP of Education at Austin Chamber of Commerce