Governor seeks larger education board
Aims to expand influence on panel
Governor Deval Patrick is seeking to expand his influence over the state Board of Education by appointing four new members to the nine-member panel, said Dana Mohler-Faria, Patrick's special adviser on education.
Mohler-Faria testified at a State House hearing yesterday in support of a proposal to increase the size of the board.
"Given that the governor has really placed education as a top priority in his administration, it would give him the opportunity to hear from a board that is more broadly representative as he moves forward with his legislation," Mohler-Faria said in a telephone interview.
The petition was filed by Senator Robert A. Antonioni and Representative Patricia A. Haddad.
Currently the governor appoints six board members who serve staggered five-year terms. Of the nine members, the education commissioner and chancellor of higher education automatically have seats on the board. A student member is elected by peers, said Heidi Guarino, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education.
Critics of the current board say it lacks diversity of views. Without changes, Patrick would not be able to appoint a new member until 2010.
But others, critical of the proposed change, say the nine-member board has been successful in education reform, particularly with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests and charter schools.
"Any effort to dilute that or have a governor with an undue amount of influence on that board is something to be concerned about," said Jamie Gass, director of education research and programs at Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research. "I don't know that adding additional members makes a lot of sense with the appointing authority that he has."
The hearing also addressed other proposals, one to increase the board from nine to 15 members, and to add representatives from advocacy groups.
The board has had nine members since 1996, when Governor William Weld reduced the board from 17 members, Antonioni said. He said that increasing the size of the board does not guarantee that Patrick will have an easier time pushing his agenda. "He still has to get his agenda through the Legislature, and clearly the Legislature has been anything but a rubber stamp to date," Antonioni said.
April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com. 