Pick a Va. resident for schools

As reported in the March 2 Metro article “Va. education chief Balow quits; many changes still up in air,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointment of Jillian Balow as superintendent of public instruction ended in her resignation.

The governor’s intent was to shake up Virginia’s public schools with an outsider from Wyoming, and he succeeded. The governor’s first warning sign about Ms. Balow should have been the redrafting of K-12 history standards. This was followed closely by the $201 million mistake made in calculating the state’s basic aid for K-12 school divisions. Proposed policy changes for transgender youths resulted in more than 71,000 written comments to the Virginia Department of Education.

Virginia doesn’t need Ms. Balow to stick around as a consultant. Virginia has many qualified educators who can fill this position. The person the governor chooses to be the next superintendent should come from the trenches of the state’s public schools.

Mr. Youngkin, neither you nor Virginia’s schools can tolerate another misguided appointment. Students, parents and teachers are counting on you. Don’t let them down.