State superintendent rumor mill: Barbara Morgan?

A story in this week’s Boise Weekly warms up the rumor mill for the 2014 elections.

Morgan_Barbara
Barbara Morgan

Former state Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant tossed out a big name as a potential candidate for superintendent of public instruction: Barbara Morgan.

“You can’t print this until you talk to her,” he said. “Barbara Morgan would be an amazing state school superintendent. She hasn’t said ‘no.’ We haven’t put any pressure on her, but we would love to recruit her.”

Contacted by Boise Weekly, Morgan didn’t say “no,” but laughed at length. “That’s funny. I really can’t tell you anything, but that’s an interesting rumor.”

The “interesting rumor” has prompted an online petition drive, urging Morgan to run.

Morgan, a former McCall teacher and astronaut, is a distinguished educator in residence at Boise State University. As Morgan told Boise Weekly, the post requires her to work with a number of government entities.

“So I would like to stay nice and nonpartisan,” she said.

(Disclosure: Idaho Education News is housed under BSU, and its staffers are university employees.)

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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