Fred Clark appointed BHE chair
Fred Clark, former aide to US Rep. Joseph Moakley, will be heading up the state Board of Higher Education, AP reports.
He replaces Stephen Tocco, a Boston lobbyist with Republican Party ties, and Aaron Spencer, who has been the acting chair since Tocco stepped down to head up the UMass Board of Trustees. (And could be the first chair to have graduated from a public college.)
Farther down in the piece, Clark, who has close ties to Patrick special education advisor Dana Mohler-Faria, defends Patrick from critics who say he’s moving too slow on his massive education reform plans: “It takes time for a new governor to put his stake in the ground, to make changes…That shouldn’t be something that is rushed.”
Those critics are likely be the same ones who are complaining about how the reform plans are costing the state candidates for education commissioner, as laid out in this good Lowell Sun piece from last week. As a consultant to the search points out, it’s also costing the state money.
But that’s looking like one of the hallmarks of the Patrick administration: Slow and steady. That includes a steady drip of appointments that’s continuing into his eighth month in office and could keep going into September.
Whether that’s been frustrating to each constituency affected by any of the appointments can sometimes be hard to tell.
Nobody seemed to mind that there wasn’t a new Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner for a while, as the thermometer started to creep up into summer temperatures. (Patrick eventually picked Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan.)
Education is one area some folks appear to be scratching their heads, though.
Before the administration took office, there were the transition working groups. Then there were the two task forces that met almost weekly. Finally, there was the big announcement at UMass-Boston…which announced essentially another task force, or blue ribbon commission, to set the field for the governor’s vision that he laid out in the speech.
The commission, dubbed the “Readiness Project,” earlier this month just got an 18-member “leadership council,” which will have control over 13 subcommittees with 10 to 12 members each. The commission plans to issue a final report and recommendations to the governor in May, with a rough draft by March, followed by hearings on the draft. (Ignore, for now, that the executive order that was signed establishing the council and commission incorrectly says a final report and recommendations will be in by March.)
That’s a whole lot. It remains to be seen whether (to trot out the – yes, yes – cringe-inducing axiom once again) slow and steady will win the race for Patrick.
He replaces Stephen Tocco, a Boston lobbyist with Republican Party ties, and Aaron Spencer, who has been the acting chair since Tocco stepped down to head up the UMass Board of Trustees. (And could be the first chair to have graduated from a public college.)
Farther down in the piece, Clark, who has close ties to Patrick special education advisor Dana Mohler-Faria, defends Patrick from critics who say he’s moving too slow on his massive education reform plans: “It takes time for a new governor to put his stake in the ground, to make changes…That shouldn’t be something that is rushed.”
Those critics are likely be the same ones who are complaining about how the reform plans are costing the state candidates for education commissioner, as laid out in this good Lowell Sun piece from last week. As a consultant to the search points out, it’s also costing the state money.
But that’s looking like one of the hallmarks of the Patrick administration: Slow and steady. That includes a steady drip of appointments that’s continuing into his eighth month in office and could keep going into September.
Whether that’s been frustrating to each constituency affected by any of the appointments can sometimes be hard to tell.
Nobody seemed to mind that there wasn’t a new Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner for a while, as the thermometer started to creep up into summer temperatures. (Patrick eventually picked Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan.)
Education is one area some folks appear to be scratching their heads, though.
Before the administration took office, there were the transition working groups. Then there were the two task forces that met almost weekly. Finally, there was the big announcement at UMass-Boston…which announced essentially another task force, or blue ribbon commission, to set the field for the governor’s vision that he laid out in the speech.
The commission, dubbed the “Readiness Project,” earlier this month just got an 18-member “leadership council,” which will have control over 13 subcommittees with 10 to 12 members each. The commission plans to issue a final report and recommendations to the governor in May, with a rough draft by March, followed by hearings on the draft. (Ignore, for now, that the executive order that was signed establishing the council and commission incorrectly says a final report and recommendations will be in by March.)
That’s a whole lot. It remains to be seen whether (to trot out the – yes, yes – cringe-inducing axiom once again) slow and steady will win the race for Patrick.
posted by Gin at 12:00 PM
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