Gov. Doug Ducey named two new members today to the Arizona Board of Education.
Calvin Baker, superintendent of the Vail Unified School District, will fill the slot reserved for the superintendent of a high school district. He replaces Roger Jacks of the Kingman Unified School District.
Janice Mak, a STEM teacher in the Paradise Valley Unified School District, was named to the position that, by law, has to be filled by a public school teacher. She succeeds Amy Hamilton.
The move comes just a day after Greg Miller resigned not only as president of the board but entirely from the 11 member panel following more than a year of public disputes with state schools chief Diane Douglas.
Dawn Wallace, the governor's education adviser, said the two actions are unrelated. But she said Ducey recognizes the need to develop new education standards in the next six months.
"And that's why you need to have fresh leadership. You need to have collaboration with the department, you need to have people talking and being thoughtful and getting public comment," she said. "And when everything is around this tension, none of that work happens."
Wallace said Baker not only runs an A-rated school district but created the Beyond Textbooks program which shares curriculum, lesson plans and standards with schools throughout the region. And she said Ducey wanted someone with expertise in science, technology, engineering and math.
"We really want to start to emphasize these programs that are linked to student success but also to economic development," Wallace said.
Both appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.