Sue Burr
Sue Burr, executive director of California’s State board of Education and a key force at local and state levels in guiding California through decades of education reform, is stepping down at the end of this year.
Burr, who in her current position also serves as Gov. Jerry Brown’s top advisor on education policy, announced her retirement in a Nov. 9 letter to the governor in which she thanked him for “providing a wonderful coda to my career,” but gave no specific reason for leaving other than the end of the year marking 40 years in public service.
Her retirement follows the administration’s exhausting and successful campaign to win voter support for Proposition 30, Brown’s ballot initiative to raise taxes on the wealthiest Californians and increase the sales tax to boost education funding.
“Sue brought a deep understanding of school policy and operations to her many years of public service. I thank her for her counsel and steady leadership,” said Brown in statement.
But, as Burr noted in her letter, she’s leaving as California policy makers and educators wade into