The State Board of Education has begun searching for a new Secretary of Education.
The current secretary, Armando Vilaseca, was hired for a one-year stint. Vilaseca previously served as the commissioner before the Department of Education was elevated to an agency.
The State Board of Education launched the search for Vilaseca’s replacement on May 17 and appointed a four-person committee to oversee the process. The committee members — Bill Mathis, Bonnie Johnson-Aten, Stacy Weinberger and Stephan Morse — are all members of the state board.
The committee, with input from the state board, will narrow the applicant pool to three candidates by Sept. 1. Gov. Peter Shumlin will then choose from among those candidates. Unlike with Vilaseca, the length of the secretary’s term will not be predetermined.
The last search didn’t drum up as large of an applicant pool as the search committee had expected. Morse, who chairs the State Board of Education, said the committee plans to step up its efforts.
“I think we will be a lot more aggressive not only with formal postings and advertising but also with reaching out to other educational organizations.”
The State Board of Education released the following statement: “Vermont has an exciting, developing educational system due to the leadership of Vermont’s first Secretary of Education, Armando Vilaseca. Now the State Board of Education is launching its second search for the next Secretary of Education. As our Governor, Peter Shumlin, has focused his second administration on educational issues, this will be an inviting time for creative educational leaders to consider a position in Vermont.”
