NEBRASKA - Societies should hold fast to an important guiding principle for government: avoid a heavy centralizing of power. This is why our country’s founders emphasized the need for a separation of powers in the federal government. It’s why they insisted that state governments retain robust authority separate from federal control.

The latest Nebraska petition drive promotes changes that are in direct conflict with this principle. The petition organizers seek to centralize state education policy-making under the governor's authority. This would not be in the best interest of the public.

This move to centralize government authority is typically what conservatives combat, yet they are the ones making the push.

Under the proposal, Nebraska would create a new Office of Education accountable to the governor, replacing the State Board of Education, education commissioner, and Nebraska Department of Education. The governor would appoint the director of the office, subject to confirmation by a majority of state senators.

Amending the Nebraska Constitution would be necessary to make the change; an indication of how sweeping the move would be, and why Nebraskans should take a closer look at the proposal.

Only one other state, Oregon, designates the governor as its chief education officer which demonstrates the rarity of the potential move.

Instead, the sound and rational way to provide the needed accountability of public officials is to continue elections for the State Board of Education. Incumbent members are required to explain and defend how they have handled their responsibilities if they want to be re-elected. Voters then decide whether those answers and whether the job has been done well in the ballot box. This is a far better method to determine whether a member should be re-elected than by letting the governor make a unilateral decision.

The last thing that Nebraskans want is a governor making political decisions and not educational decisions regarding the State Board of Education that negatively impact their children. This is a real possibility given governors are term-limited and the policies could be subject to change every few years.

For the full article click HERE