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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Brown wants to ax secretary of education position | California Watch

Brown wants to ax secretary of education position | California Watch

Brown wants to ax secretary of education position

Brown campaign photo

As part of his campaign pledge to "make government more efficient and effective," Gov.-elect Jerry Brown has promised to do away with the secretary of education position, a fixture in governors' cabinets since the early 1990s.

He plans to rely more on the state Board of Education (which the governor appoints) and the existing California Department of Education staff. He also plans to "play a major role in education policy" himself, drawing on his experience as the founder of two Oakland charter schools and having to deal with a public school system as Oakland mayor.

At the rate he is going, Brown appears to be angling for a slimmed down cabinet compared to his predecessors. In addition to this little-noticed campaign pledge, Brown is also