The state school board has unanimously named education consultant and former state budget director Paolo DeMaria as Ohio’s new state superintendent.
DeMaria has extensive finance experience as an advisor for the state Senate, for former governors George Voinovich and Bob Taft and for the Ohio Department of Education.
He has also served as executive vice chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and has worked since 2010 for Education First Consulting.
He was approved today after the board interviewed candidates on Monday and Tuesday.
“Mr DeMaria has a fantastic background,” said board member Mary Rose Oakar, of Cleveland, just before the vote. “We really needed somebody to step up to the plate quickly. He has experience and knowledge of state government, and that kind of experience is really important.”
Click here to read more about DeMaria and his stances on various topics, including Common Core.
The unanimous vote was a rare one for a board that fought several times last year over the work of retired superintendent Richard Ross. It has also often been divided along party lines, despite officially being a non-partisan board.
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