NM Public Education Secretary Nominee Skandera's Qualifications Questioned

By BARRY MASSEY / Associated Press
Posted: 02/21/2011 04:28:40 PM MST
Las Cruces Sun News

SANTA FE - Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's nominee for public education secretary, Hanna Skandera, faces questions in the Legislature over whether she meets constitutional requirements for the job.

The leader of the Public Education Department must be a "qualified, experienced educator," according to the New Mexico Constitution, but Skandera has never worked as a teacher or administrator in a public elementary or secondary school.

Skandera is subject to Senate confirmation and Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said lawmakers are trying to determine what the constitution means by "educator."

"I don't think we should just close our eyes to that issue," Sanchez said in a recent interview.

The governor contends Skandera is highly qualified to serve as the state's top educational leader.

Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the governor selected Skandera because of her "impressive credentials and strong commitment to reform." Skandera, 37, worked from March 2007 to January 2009 as deputy chief of staff and senior policy adviser to U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.

She was a deputy commissioner of education in the Florida Department of Education in 2005-2007. She held several jobs in the California office of the secretary for education in 2004-2005, including undersecretary for education, chief of staff and assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education.

Her duties in the Florida and California jobs included policy and legislative adviser and "spokesperson to the media, public and education constituents," according to Skandera's resume, which was released by the governor's office.

Skandera also was a lecturer and adjunct professor at Pepperdine University's school of public policy in 2002 and 2003. She earned a master's degree in public policy from the university in 2000.

She worked at the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University, from May 2000 to December 2003 as a public affairs and research fellow. She worked for Catholic Charities in California in 1993-1998 on an abstinence-only sex education programs for students in grades 6-12.

"In the past, the Legislature has made a distinction between an educator and teacher, with educators being inclusive of administrators and teachers. In this case, Skandera's experience addresses both as she has played a direct role in crafting education policy as well as in classroom instruction," Darnell said in a statement.

Skandera said she views the constitution's educator requirement to mean "you been able to administrate and lead in the education field and established yourself as someone who understands policy and implementation. And I believe that I have done that consistently."

However, an educational union leader said Skandera doesn't meet the requirements for education secretary because she lacks a background in public schools.

"I know she has worked for departments of education but she's worked for departments as a public policy person. l think that is problematic for us as teachers who definitely want a secretary of education to understand what goes on every day in the classroom," said Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation.

The Public Education Department, under the control of the governor with a cabinet-level secretary, was established in 2003. The provision spelling out the secretary's qualifications was part of that change, which voters adopted as a constitutional amendment.

Veronica Garcia, a career educator who worked as a teacher and school superintendent, served as the state's first public education secretary in Gov. Bill Richardson's administration.

Before the change in educational governance, the elective state Board of Education hired a superintendent of public instruction to run the state's educational agency. The constitution required the state schools superintendent to be a "trained and experienced educator."

Sanchez said it's unclear whether the constitutional question about Skandera's qualifications will become a problem that jeopardizes her confirmation by the Senate. He said she "seems to have a grasp" on educational policy.

Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said he was unaware of the constitutional requirements for the public education secretary but believed that lawmakers should give deference to the governor's picks for top state jobs in most instances.

"The governor ought to be able to put together her team," said Jennings.

I'd Like Hanna Skandera's Deal

Thursday, February 17, 2011

By Leslie Linthicum

Journal Staff Writer

Let's imagine the Journal pays me $125,000 a year to write an opinion column. (It doesn't.)

And let's say the newspaper gave me that fat salary because I am the most talented columnist in all the land. (I wish.)

Let's imagine the same bosses who pay me that handsome salary have frozen a handful of positions at the newspaper after a long, loud public relations campaign about the importance of tight belts and budgetary restraint. (They haven't.)

Now let's say I ask those bosses to pony up $152,000 of that saved salary money so I can hire eight consultants to advise me on how to write my column. (I wouldn't dare.)

But if I did, I'd have my idea consultant, a person to do all those pesky interviews and someone else to transcribe them. And I'd get a typist, a grammarian, a spell-checker and a writing coach. I would pay a pretty penny for a Synonym Czar.
I'd find them all outside of New Mexico because (I gather) that's where all the brains and talent reside.

Wow. Writing my column just got a whole lot easier. It's almost as if I've outsourced a good part of my job with the newspaper's money while still cashing my big, fat paychecks.

Now I just have to cross my fingers that no enterprising reporter discovers my nice little scam and slaps it all over the front page of the newspaper.

If my name were Hanna Skandera and education were my game, well, it would be too late for that.

There was a moderate kerfuffle last week when it was revealed that Skandera, the $125,000-a-year secretary-designate for public education for the state of New Mexico, had contracted eight consultants to advise her on all aspects of running a public education department. The consultants she hired are providing advice on policy, assessment and accountability, technology, teacher effectiveness, organization, federal compliance, funding and communications. What's left?

Skandera was one of Gov. Susana Martinez's early Cabinet hires, and she was introduced as an out-of-stater we were lucky to have been able to nab for this critical position. Skandera is young, only 37, but she has some big-league credentials. She was deputy commissioner of education for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during Florida's much-lauded era of school reform.

If you'll recall Martinez's campaign, one of her oft-repeated promises was that she would poke a hole in Gov. Bill Richardson's bloated payroll of "exempt" or appointed staffers and let out all that hot air.

Now, in explaining why the state could now pay out $152,000 to eight consultants (who will work in the neighborhood of only six to 12 weeks, by the way), the administration said it was because it saved a lot of money freezing a bunch of those "exempt" Richardson positions.

The department is saving some $300,000 by not filling positions. The administration defends the contracts by saying it is spending $152,000 of that $300,000 to provide "a fresh perspective and short-term guidance" so Skandera can run the department better in the long run. Martinez told me Wednesday she thinks it's money well-spent because part of the consultants' task will be to figure out how to cut the entire education budget by a sharp 20 percent.

Reaction from school superintendents and the unions to the hiring of a team of experts to consult the big cheese was swift, peppered with words like "unbelievable" and "displeasure" and complete with observation of the irony of dinging schools' budgets while writing checks to consultants.

I am considering writing a column about this affair. But first let me round up my team of consultants and find out what the experts think. I believe this deal is odoriferous. Does it smell like a cost-cutting rose? Or does it just stink? I will have to call on my Synonym Czar to sort this out.

UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Leslie at 823-3914 or llinthicum@abqjournal.com. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Scott Forrester

February 9, 2011 505- 934 -5681

RELEASE: Not one New Mexican on Martinez education advisory team?

Martinez's Public Education advisory team bereft of New Mexicans; but full of Bush appointees and No Child Left Behind disciples

(ALBUQUERQUE) -- Gov. Susana Martinez and Education Secretary designee Hanna Skandera today announced her Public Education Advisory team -- which includes no New Mexicans and is primarily made up of former Bush appointees and proponents of the failed No Child Left Behind Act.

"This is a slap in the face to New Mexicans who have spent their lives and careers educating our children and working to improve the school system," said Democratic Chairman Javier Gonzales. "To not have one single New Mexican -- be it a parent or someone who has spent time in a New Mexico classroom -- sends a strong message that Gov. Martinez and Secretary Skandera could care less about what New Mexico parents, teachers and children have to say about education."

Below is a list of the appointees and their backgrounds.

"New Mexico parents, teachers and students support, attend and work at our public schools. New Mexicans have a personal commitment to seeing our schools improve. To not have one New Mexican at the leadership table is utterly callous and dismissive of the role ordinary New Mexicans play in improving the schools in their community," Gonzales said. “Everyone agrees that we need to reform New Mexico’s education system and improve outcomes for our students, but not including New Mexicans at the leadership table is just plain wrong.”
Martinez's Public Education Department Advisory team:

* Catherine Freeman, Ph.D., is advising the Department on operational functions and education policy, including management, organizational structure and corresponding budget and legislative issues. Catherine is currently a Senior Associate with HCM Strategists, LLC. Catherine's vast experience in K-12 education, from the local to the federal level, gives her a wide-angle lens on education issues and a strong footing in both policy research and practice. Before joining HCM, Catherine was Chief of Staff to the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia. She has served in senior roles at the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education, where she was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. There she managed the office’s implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, including its accountability and assessment provisions. Catherine earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, a master’s of education from the University of Texas-Austin, and a doctorate in philosophy from Vanderbilt University, where she currently teaches a course in federal policy development and implementation.

* Christy Hovanetz, Ph. D., is advising the Department on a wide range of education reform policy issues, including assessment and accountability initiatives. Christy is currently a Senior Policy Fellow for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She previously served as the Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Florida Department of Education. She has worked in education policy for the state of Florida since 1999, serving as the Director of Evaluation and Reporting, Director of Reading First and a Policy Analyst for former Governor Jeb Bush. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with a minor in mathematics and is a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota. Christy earned her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at The Florida State University.

* Jay Pfeiffer is advising the Department on data quality issues, including measures to upgrade and improve New Mexico’s Student-Teacher Accountability Reporting System (STARS). Jay is currently The Program Director of the State Longitudinal Data Program of MPR Associates, Inc. of Berkeley, California. In this role, he has advised and consulted with the Data Quality Campaign, the Aspen Institute, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Organization, several foundations and states. He received the Data Quality Campaign's only life-time achievement award and is recognized as an expert on the uses of state longitudinal data systems in informing policy and education business applications including planning, designing and implementing data systems, and connecting K12 data, postsecondary education and workforce data. He has more than 30 years of experience in using stat data to support education policy and research. Jay served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Florida Department of Education up until 2009. He also co-chaired the National Education Longitudinal Data Committee of the Council of Chief State School Officers and is a member of the Independent Advisory Panel for the National Assessment of Career and Technical Education.

* David Saba is advising the Department on education policy issues relating to teacher effectiveness, certification and licensure. David is the founder of DWSaba Consulting and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE). He is directly responsible for dramatically increasing the teacher recruitment efforts at ABCTE, having grown enrollments by more than 300 percent and has seen the organization recruit over 9,500 potential teachers into its rigorous, self-paced online teaching certification program. Before joining ABCTE, David served as the Mid Atlantic Regional Director for Kaplan Test Prep.

* Jeff Sellers is advising the Department on a wide range of education policy and data quality issues. Jeff has 30 years of experience working for the state of Florida in a variety of Information System capacities including data management, data warehousing, information security, data base administration and data systems. He served most recently as the Deputy Commissioner in the Florida Department of Education. He was the director Florida’s PK20 Education Data Warehouse; a comprehensive data repository of education data spanning prekindergarten through postsecondary graduate level achievements; providing a seamless data link between Florida’s public PK-12, workforce education, community college and university systems. Jeff has served on multiple boards, advisory committees, and taskforces for regional data centers and national organizations on issues of connecting and using data longitudinally across education sectors and with related agency services.

* John Bailey is advising the Department on a wide range of education policy and technology issues. John is currently the Director of Whiteboard Advisors and serves as co-publisher of Education Insider. He most recently served at the White House as part of former President George W. Bush’s Domestic Policy Council, where he was responsible for coordinating education and labor issues. He has also worked on education policy at the state and federal level, as well as with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was also an ex-officio member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education in 2006. From 1995 to 2001, as the nation’s second Director of Educational Technology and Pennsylvania’s first Director of Educational Technology, John spearheaded the development of several initiatives to expand online learning and improve the use of technology and data in education.

* Terrell Halaska is advising the Department on a wide range of education policy and organizational issues. Terrell is a founder of HCM Strategists, LLC. Terrell previously served as the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, where she led the team negotiating reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Higher Education Act. Prior to joining the Department of Education during former President George W. Bush’s Administration, she served in the White House as special assistant to the president for domestic policy, advising the president, domestic policy advisor, and other senior staff.

* Kristy Campbell is advising the Department on communications, legislative and public engagement strategies. Kristy previously served as the Communications Director for former Governor Jeb Bush’s two non-profit education policy organizations, the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national 501c3 focused on advancing education reform in states across America, and the Foundation for Florida’s Future, a state-based 501c4 education advocacy group. She was also Press Secretary to Governor Bush, serving as his chief spokeswoman and assisting in overseeing the Bush/Jennings Administration’s public messaging and outreach at 18 state agencies, including the Florida Department of Education. Kristy most recently worked as the communications director for a gubernatorial campaign in Florida.

* Chad Colby is advising the Department on education policy, federal compliance and communications issues. Chad is a communications strategist and a veteran of education reform campaigns and implementation. Chad’s experience in education started in the Florida Department of Education at the same time the state adopted Governor Jeb Bush’s “A+ Plan.” The first-of-its-kind plan instituted a school grading system with a strong accountability measures. Later, he joined the U.S. Department of Education where he managed the media affairs office and all events for the Secretary. Chad most recently worked as a communications advisor to a gubernatorial campaign in Florida.

###