Eric Smith, Florida's education commissioner since 2007, will resign at the end of the school year, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Smith did not give a precise reason for exiting but noted in a press release that it was time for the new governor, Rick Scott, ?to have input through the state board of education on the type of leader to pursue his goals.? Roberto Martinez, a member of that board, said that Smith ?has been the best commissioner of education in the country for the past three years, bar none!? But the governor, in a statement released by his office, was less enthusiastic: ?On behalf of the state of Florida, I thank him for his years of dedicated service.?
?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Policy Fellow