Denver schools chief reportedly to get Senate seat

The media in Denver is reporting that the city's schools superintendent, Michael Bennet, is Governor Bill Ritter's pick to fill the US Senate seat being vacated by Ken Salazar, who is to be Interior secretary in the Obama administration.

Ritter scheduled a press conference Saturday to unveil his selection.

Bennet had been mentioned in the mix for Obama's education secretary, but Obama chose 44-year-old Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.

The Associated Press says that Bennet was considered a dark horse candidate for the Senate spot because of his lack of legislative experience. The AP continues:

"The Yale-educated lawyer in 2003 was tapped to be chief of staff for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who then encouraged him to apply for the superintendent job for the 150-school city system two years later.

"In June 2005, the Denver Board of Education unanimously appointed him superintendent of Denver Public Schools after he promised to provide each school with a highly skilled faculty and was able to get teachers to support merit pay. He also promised to track student progress and provide help.

"The school board said Bennett delivered and students made strong improvements in reading, math, writing and science.

"According to Denver Public Schools, the district posted a 6.2 percent increase in reading scores over the three years, more than four times the growth of the state. In math, there was a 6 percent gain, more than twice the growth of the state, and in the middle grades, Denver saw gains of 10 percent in reading and 9 percent in math."