[T]he governor has appointed Deputy Education Secretary Heather Bouchey to run the agency on an acting basis after Rebecca Holcombe abruptly resigned effective April 1. The State Board of Education has started its search for a permanent replacement.
Gov. Phil Scott’s letter appointing Bouchey as the acting interim secretary left open the possibility of Bouchey staying on until a permanent secretary is named, or until an interim is selected. The letter also asks Amy Fowler, another deputy secretary, to work closely with Bouchey to ensure neither is overtasked.
That might be difficult to accomplish with the agency in the midst of a final push to complete a statewide map for school districts as part of consolidation under Act 46. They are also in the middle of a dispute between the governor and lawmakers over school spending as the legislative deadline nears.
Bouchey, an expert in education models, has been a deputy at the agency since 2015. Before that, she was director of the Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College. She has a doctorate in development psychology and was previously an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Vermont.
Those involved in the state’s massive education reforms said Monday that they were concerned by how long it has taken the administration to appoint a temporary replacement for Holcombe, whose departure has been largely unexplained.
At an emergency meeting of the State Board of Education, members went into executive session to select four names to submit to Gov. Phil Scott as possible candidates for the acting post. Krista Huling, who chairs the board, confirmed Bouchey was among the names put forward.
Whether the governor will be as receptive to their suggestions for a permanent replacement remains to be seen. Scott riled the education community with a letter Monday saying that he was looking for someone with extensive management experience, but not necessarily with a background in education.
Holcombe offered no explanation for her resignation, announced in a letter at the end of last month and effective April 1, and has since declined to be interviewed. The governor characterized the decision as “personal.”
But her husband, journalist James Bandler, recently wrote a message on Facebook saying the decision to leave was professional.
“Rebecca’s resignation as Vermont’s Education Secretary was a professional decision and not a personal one,” Bandler wrote. “She said it best. It’s time to move on.”
