Lowery Named Markell’s Secretary of Education
For those who don’t know Lillian Lowery exposed the financial incompetency of the former super of Christina School District. On preconditions of taking over Christina she called for a complete audit. She could have walked from the table but stayed with the community and stayed the course! I have not doubt she will bring that integrity to the Delaware Department of Education.
Is Christina the only school district visible from Dover? Why has every education secretary in history come from Christina? It sure can’t be its educational excellence.
Good point, this choice should have been about educational excellence but it wasn’t.
However, when the machete has to come out for the massive cuts coming to education it might be helpful.
More of the same it looks like to me.
Lowery asking for an audit gives her points from me. I’m just thrilled it wasn’t Andrejewski.
Geezer
“Why has every education secretary in history come from Christina?”
Wasn’t Metts and Woodruff from Christina?
Mike Protack // Jan 19, 2009 at 11:53 am
“However, when the machete has to come out for the massive cuts coming to education it might be helpful.”
Mike, she came into the job requesting a full audit and the cut were forced by the FRT!
So you’re saying if elected governor is the face of 600 million budget short fall you would not have cut spending?
The real ball is in Markell’s court to make an executive order ordering full financial transparency of public schools and DOE.
Have they picked a treasurer yet?
Markell picked his replacement about two weeks ago. I think her name is Velda Jones-Potter.
Yes, Kilroy, both our previous secretaries since taking the schools out from state school board control were Christina employees.
That’s a name that sounds like a political appointee. woman, hyphenated last name… slam dunk if she’s a minority. Who the heck names their little girl “Velda”? Sounds like a bostonian slavic immigrant who wanted a welder.
Brian Shields
“slam dunk if she’s a minority.”
Come on! She is qualified! Delaware only has three Secretary of Education Metts ( African-American) Woodruff (White) and Lowery (African-American) if you’re going to be hypocritical why not be concerned a male wasn’t selected? On MLK’s B-day shame on you!
“Sounds like a bostonian slavic immigrant who wanted a welder.”
Well at least you’ve shown respect here and didn’t call her a mail-order bride!
Speaking of, maybe we can have a fundraiser for Matthews! We can look through the bride catalogs for an Irish potato farmer that looks like Christine!
MLK’s B-day shame on all of you!
Kilroy: I believe the comment was about Jones-Potter, not Lowery.
That just leaves DNREC . . . I hope It’s Good Being Last.
Me too, Lee Ann. Was listening to Jack speak to Allan Loudell earlier and it sounds as though the DNREC pick may still be a week or two away.
Kilroy, well Brian is really a closeted Republican. 😉
Geezer
“Kilroy: I believe the comment was about Jones-Potter, not Lowery.”
Sorry take out Lowery and insert Jones-Potter
Wait! Potter! Is she related to Charles Potter Wilmington City Council? If so that would be the slam-dunk
nemski
“Kilroy, well Brian is really a closeted Republican.”
OMG is he the pizza boy for slower Delaware?
Wasn’t Matthews required to get a release from Brian’s parents to be on DTR? LOL
“That just leaves DNREC . . . I hope It’s Good Being Last.”
So, as a DNREC insider, what’s the scuttlebutt? Surely there have been some names floated by now. Is Hughes still at the helm in the interim, or are you rudderless? If not Hughes, who’s acting?
Inquiring minds …
I heard about Lowery a week ago.
Tom Wagner says that he recommended to her that the district be audited. There is no genius behind Lowery at all, really. This is tiresome that Markell is bouncing crud into his press releases. Keep it clean Jack!
FYI: Velda Jones Potter does not use a hyphen. She is socially correct: Jones is her maiden name and once a woman is married she is to drop her given middle name and use her maiden name as a middle name. (Those who choose to hyphenate, unless two great ‘houses’ are being combined by the marriage, are generally ignorant of protocol.)
I do not want to ‘defend’ Jackie, as Velda is known among friends and family, but for those with short memories: when she left the duPont company (after 17 yrs.) she was one of the highest ranking females there, she was ‘executive on loan’ to the city of Wilmington (Sills) and she dragged us out of a serious deficit, she turned Baker down to become v.p. of a investment firm that worked w/high net work individuals (think sports stars), she was some kinda v.p. for MBNA. She was the first AA female to graduate w/and engineering degree from UD. Jackie has won practically every ‘first’ and award around town: “Trailblazers”, “She Knows Where She is Going”….on and on and on.
Jackie Potter is the destined to be one of the shining stars of the Markell administration.
And yes she is the spouse of Honorable Charles Potter, Jr., Wilmington City Council, District 1.
Apologies from the thoughtless comments written above are welcomed below this post.
Woodruf came from Appoquinimink not Christina. She was Principal of Middletown HS and never served as a Superintendent prior to her appointment. Lowery is an outstending leader and Delaware’s gain is Christina’s loss.
Amen Susan. Jackie will be a great asset to the Markell camp. A brilliant and honorable woman.
Miscreant, John Hughes had his last meeting (with me and others) on Thursday and cleaned out his office. I have heard a lot of names floating around, many from out of state, which is fine with me. I don’t want to scoop Jack, but I don’t want to imply that I really know anything that significant, either.
Still, the appointment had nothing to do with education excellence. There were many other choices which would have been much better.
The $$$ cut from education will be very substantial. No one will be happy.
LMAO
I was just joking and making an observation about politically correct appointees. Tis the season, after all. MLK Day notwithstanding, it was just a joke.
Mike, I detect a theme in all your recent posts. The cuts will be severe. They will hurt. No one will be happy. If you had been elected, would you have flown us all to Disney World?
Apparently if Mike had been elected he could have made the GOP Magic Pony make it all better for us.
Anyone get the feeling that Mike won’t be running for anything again for a long time? He is leaving alot of cheerleading for other people’s (and the country and our state’s) failure around the local blogs. Not a thing you want to come back at you, I think.
Thanks, Lee Ann. I was just curious, and can appreciate the position you are in.
“…the GOP Magic Pony…”
Would the magic pony be the GOP response to this?
http://www.faithmouse.com/obama_victory_unicorn.jpg
No. The GOP Magic Pony tells its handlers that you can have all the government you want for free.
Lowery is a superb choice drafting from Delaware.
She has only been here about 3 years, thus bringing a whole new set of eyes w/ her. The incredible oversight she has given Christina, and the fortitude it took to discover, expose, inherit, and reconstruct financially that district, was not only commendable, but downright magnaminous that she stayed. The expose was found quite early upon her arrival, and no one would have faulted her for reconsidering the position, based on a school economy presented as solvent, when in fact it was beyond broke. She stayed, and went to work; and has done so with all the grit, and gut choices those times demand. And….she still smiles, has remained gracious, and I have never read nor heard a complaint uttered of the pile she stepped in. DOE doesn’t need a whiner now–they need a worker, and a winner. Ms. Lowery will meet the challenge–both fiscally, and educationally. It will be a daunting task. As will replacing her in Christina.
Sokola must be pissed. He thought he had it in the bag.