Superintendent of Schools

The Superintendent of Schools, or Superintendent of Education, a position also called the Chief School Administrator, is a position in state government responsible for overseeing and coordinating the state's elementary and secondary schools.

Within the U.S., school superintendents are usually selected by members of the particular district's school board. Often, the superintendent sits on the board as a non-voting member. School boards may consist of either appointed or elected members. Likewise, the superintendent's position also varies by state.

Some states may require a candidate for the superintendency to hold a Ph.D., Ed.D., or similar terminal degree. An active teaching certification is also a common requirement.

An appointed superintendent may have a set term at the end of which she must go through appointment again. In addition to this, appointed superintendent serve at the pleasure of the appointing body or official and may be fired or asked to resign. For instance, in August of 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dismissed the state's Commissioner of Education.

Elected vs. appointed

While the vast majority of the states that do have the statewide governmental position authorize the governor to appoint an individual to the office, there are at least 14 others who have opted to have public voters select the office holders. These states include Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Current officeholders

Elected

State	Office Holder	Title of Office	Assumed office	Length of Term	Party	Doctoral Requirement?
Arizona	John Huppenthal	Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction	2010	4 years, 2 term limit	Republican
California	Tom Torlakson	California Superintendent of Public Instruction	2010	4 years, 2 term limit	Non-partisan
Georgia	Dr. John D. Barge	Georgia State Superintendent of Schools	2010	4 years	Republican
Idaho	Tom Luna	Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction	2006	4 years	Republican	No
Indiana	Dr. Tony Bennett	Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	4 years	Republican
Montana	Denise Juneau	Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	4 years	Democratic
North Carolina	June St. Clair Atkinson	North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction	2004	4 years	Democratic
North Dakota	Dr. Wayne G. Sanstead	North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction	1984	4 years	Democratic
Oklahoma	Janet Barresi	Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction	2010	4 years	Republican
Oregon	Susan Castillo	Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction	2002	4 years	Non-partisan
South Carolina	Mick Zais	South Carolina Superintendent of Education	2010	4 years	Republican
Washington	Randy Dorn	Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	4 years	Non-partisan
Wisconsin	Tony Evers	Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	4 years	Non-partisan
Wyoming	Cindy Hill	Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction	2010	4 years	Republican

Appointed

State	Office Holder	Title of Office	Assumed office	Appointing Official or Body	Doctoral Requirement?
Alabama	Tommy Bice	Alabama Superintendent of Education	2011	State Board of Education	No
Alaska	Michael Hanley	Commissioner of Education	2011	Governor & State Board of Education	No
Arkansas	Dr. Thomas W. Kimbrell	Arkansas Commissioner of Education	2009	Governor & State Board of Education
Colorado	Robert Hammond	Colorado Commissioner of Education	2010	State Board of Education
Connecticut	George A. Coleman	Connecticut Commissioner of Education	2011	Governor & State Board of Education
Delaware	Dr. Lillian M. Lowry	Delaware Secretary of Education	2009	Gov. Jack Markell
Florida	Dr. Eric J. Smith	Florida Commissioner of Education	2007	Governor & State Board of Education
Hawaii	Kathryn Matayoshi	Hawaii Superintendent of Education	2010	State Board of Education
Illinois	Dr. Christopher Koch	Illinois Superintendent of Education	2006	State Board of Education
Iowa	Jason Glass	Iowa Director of Education	2010	Gov. Terry Branstad
Kansas	Dr. Diane DeBacker	Kansas Commissioner of Education	2010	State Board of Education
Kentucky	Dr. Terry Holliday	Kentucky Commissioner of Education	2009	State Board of Education
Louisiana	John White	Louisiana Superintendent of Education	January 2012	State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Maine	Stephen Bowen	Maine Commissioner of Education	2011	Governor & State Board of Education
Maryland	Dr. Bernard Sadusky	Maryland Superintendent of Education	July 1, 2011	State Board of Education
Massachusetts	Paul Reville	Massachusetts Secretary of Education	2008	Gov. Deval Patrick
Michigan	Michael P. Flanagan	Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction	2005	State Board of Education
Minnesota	Dr. Brenda Cassellius	Minnesota Commissioner of Education	2010	Gov. Mark Dayton
Mississippi	Dr. Tom Burnham	Mississippi Superintendent of Education	2009	State Board of Education
Missouri	Dr. Chris L. Nicastro	Missouri Commissioner of Education	2009	State Board of Education
Nebraska	Dr. Roger D. Breed	Nebraska Commissioner of Education	2009	State Board of Education
Nevada	James Guthrie	Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction	2012	Gov. Brian Sandoval
New Hampshire	Dr. Virginia M. Barry	New Hampshire Commissioner of Education	2009	Governor & New Hampshire Executive Council
New Jersey	Christopher Cerf	New Jersey Commissioner of Education	2011	Gov. Chris Christie
New Mexico	Hanna Skandera	New Mexico Secretary of Education	2010	Gov. Susana Martinez
New York	Dr. David M. Steiner	New York Commissioner of Education	2009	Governor & State Board of Education
Ohio	Stan Heffner	Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	State Board of Education
Pennsylvania	Ronald Tomalis	Pennsylvania Secretary of Education	2010	Gov. Ed Rendell
Rhode Island	Deborah A. Gist	Rhode Island Commissioner of Education	2009	State Board of Education
South Dakota	Melody Schopp	South Dakota Secretary of Education	2011	Gov. Dennis Daugaard
Tennessee	Kevin Huffman	Tennessee Commissioner of Education	2011	Gov. Bill Haslam
Texas	Robert Scott	Texas Commissioner of Education	2007	Gov. Rick Perry
Utah	Dr. Larry Shumway	Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction	2009	State Board of Education
Vermont	Armando Vilaseca	Vermont Commissioner of Education	2008	State Board of Education
Virginia	Dr. Patricia Wright	Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction	2008	Gov. Tim Kaine
West Virginia	Jorea Marple	West Virginia Superintendent of Schools	2011	State Board of Education

External links

• The American Association of School Superintendents