New school board to set new standards

Tue., June 28, 2005

John K. Wiley Associated Press

Terry Bergeson, state public schools superintendent, said Monday the state Board of Education is being restructured to give the body more clout in school financing and accountability matters.

In November, school boards across the state will elect six members to a new 16-member state board, including one member representing private schools, Bergeson said.

Gov. Christine Gregoire will appoint seven members, and Bergeson will join two nonvoting student representatives on the new board beginning next January. The state schools superintendent will become a voting member of the board, rather than only casting votes to break ties.

The new board will be responsible for setting standards for graduation and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, also known as the WASL test, Bergeson said. The commission currently overseeing WASL is being disbanded.

“This change marks a historic moment for our education system,” Bergeson said prior to a meeting of state school boards and principals associations in Spokane. “The state Board of Education is taking on a new and critical role in school and student accountability and offering all interested citizens an opportunity to serve the state and our schools in a very important way.”

The new state school board will concentrate its efforts on lobbying the Legislature for funding for new construction as well as other school-related issues and policies, Bergeson said.

Teacher training and certification issues formerly overseen by the state board will be handled by the Professional Educator Standards Board, made up of educators, Bergeson said.

The change is dictated by the Legislature’s mandate to shift responsibilities for kindergarten through high school education and student testing accountability, Bergeson said.

The new board makeup, recommended by former Gov. Gary Locke and approved by the Legislature this year, has won the support of such diverse organizations as the Washington Education Association and Washington Roundtable, a business-friendly policy group.