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State education commissioner stepping down

Susan Gendron, in office since 2003, has had to deal with several difficult and controversial changes for Maine's school systems

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- Susan Gendron, who has overseen school district consolidation, a new standardized test's introduction and the expansion of Maine's student laptop initiative, said Wednesday she is resigning as education commissioner.

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Education Commissioner Susan Gendron speaks during a conference Tuesday in Augusta. Gendron is leaving the Department to become policy director for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a group of more than 35 states working to develop common assessments, and to compete for a share of $350 million in federal Race to the Top education reform funds.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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Gendron, commissioner since March 2003, will leave her job at month's end to become policy director for a 35-state group -- the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium -- which is competing for $350 million in federal money to develop a set of common standardized tests.

She was previously superintendent of schools in Windham.

"I've been privileged to be your commissioner," Gendron told a group of superintendents, school board members and teachers' union representatives during a meeting Wednesday. "I've had an incredible experience."

The Department of Education's deputy commissioner, Angela Faherty, will take over as acting commissioner. Faherty had worked with Gendron as Windham's assistant superintendent and was previously the special education director in Portland schools.

Gendron is leaving the education department at a busy time, as state education officials prepare Maine's application for Race to the Top, a national competition among the states for billions aimed at education reform. Maine could be eligible for up to $75 million if its application -- which will include a proposal to participate in the SMARTER consortium -- is successful.

In her time as education commissioner, Gendron has undertaken a number of major initiatives aimed at reining in school system spending and introducing key reforms to the state's education system. The changes she's touted have often run into resistance in the state Legislature and school districts.

The school district consolidation plan Gendron oversaw intended to merge Maine's 290 school districts into 80 regional units to cut school administrative costs. But opposition to the plan in much of rural Maine thwarted dozens of school district mergers, leaving the state with 215 school districts currently.

Some 95 districts will likely face penalties starting July 1 for voting against mandated mergers.

Last year, Gendron attempted to expand the Maine Learning Technology Initiative -- the program that's equipped seventh- and eighth-grade students with laptops -- to the high school grades.

But legislators and school districts didn't all support it, saying the cost of leasing Apple MacBooks for all high school students was too steep. More than half of high schools ultimately opted into the plan, while other schools pursued cheaper alternatives or opted out of the program entirely.

Gendron last year also pushed lawmakers to adopt a new set of high school graduation requirements to allow students more choice in deciding what they study in high school. The plan also would have shifted Maine toward a standards-based education system, which advances students when they've mastered course materials, rather than when they've spent a year in the classroom.

Legislators pared down the plan to one that allows students more choice in how they satisfy school requirements.

James Morse, the superintendent of Portland's public schools, called Gendron's resignation "a major loss to the state of Maine."

"She had a very strong vision of where she wanted to take education in the last eight years, and she worked very hard to implement that vision," he said. "This is a commissioner who never caved."

While lawmakers didn't sign onto all of her priorities, the reforms Gendron pushed have helped Maine better line up with the Obama administration's education agenda, said Rep. Patricia Sutherland, D-Chapman, the House chairman of the Legislature's Education Committee.

"It was due to her persistence that we find ourselves eligible to apply for Race to the Top and in a posture to meet the federal guidelines coming down the road in terms of funding," Sutherland said.

Gendron has overseen Maine's education department during "a very difficult seven years in education," said Chris Galgay, president of the Maine Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.

During that time, though, Gendron has involved the union in the decision-making process, Galgay said.

"We meet with her regularly," he said. "I don't think you can ask for much more than that."

Recently, Gendron has earned a prominent national role in the education world.

She was one of 10 state education commissioners who made recommendations for President Barack Obama's education secretary in the weeks following Obama's 2008 election.

Gendron is currently president of the Council of Chief State School Officers, a nationwide network of state education commissioners. In that position, she's played a national role in education policy.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.coma