GUEST
Mark Newburn, member, Nevada State Board of Education
Gov. Sandoval will select a replacement for former State Superintendent James Guthrie by August. The state has already received applications to fill the position which will be vetted by the state board of education and forwarded to the governor so he can make his pick.
Mark Newburn told us what he's looking for in a new state superintendent:
"I’m looking for probably three things. 1. Do I think they can do the job? 2. Do I think they can do the job well? 3. Do I think they can be open-minded and supportive to my individual agenda?
As far as can they do the job – do they have real experience in managing a substantial education organization? Do they seem to understand state level education requirements? Have they worked with a state legislature, have they worked with a state governing board, like the state board of education? There’s a partnership between the governor’s office and the state board, and I’d like to think the state board is full of bright, passionate people, some that have an agenda, like I do. I’m the STEM guy, the science, technology, engineering and math. My background is not education, I come from a high-tech field, and so I’m looking at how K-12 education educates the next generation work force, how do we remain globally competitive against foreign countries."