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Ohio's School Board Opposes the Move to Give the Governor More Control Over Education

A photo of Paolo DeMaria, the  Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Ohio Department of Education.
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The state school board has voted to oppose a controversial bill that would give the governor more authority over a new education and workforce agency. There are questions about the relationship the state’s education leader has with Gov. John Kasich.

When he was picked as state school superintendent in 2016, longtime education and government official Paolo DeMaria was the unanimous choice of the state school board. But the board’s meeting this week got a bit tense when member Stephanie Dodd, who’s a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, asked DeMaria about sharing input with Kasich.

“So when is the last time that you spoke with the governor?” Dodd asked.

“We’re in contact with the governor’s office,” DeMaria said.

“No, no, not the governor’s office. The governor. Have you ever spoken with the governor?” Dodd said.

“Madam President, if we could, I’d like to proceed to the next question,” DeMaria said.

DeMaria has asked to be appointed to Kasich’s Executive Workforce Board, but did say he hasn’t received a response. Kasich’s office says the two have a good working relationship

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.