My 2 Cents: State Superintendent of Schools Janet Barresi Ends Tenure

Former State Superintendent of Schools Janet Barresi went out in a blaze of glory so to speak.

She ended her controversial tenure as the boss of Oklahoma's public schools, with controversy of course.

After she lost her re-election bid, she went on a hiring and promotion jag.

From November to the end of her tenure Monday, Janet Barresi hired 13 new employees and handed out nine promotions.

Those 13 new employees have a combined base salary of $653,000. The promotions were worth another $80,000.

But there's no guarantee those people will get to keep those new jobs, now that Joy Hofmeister has taken over as Superintendent.

And it's unfair that Barresi crammed people into all of those positions knowing a new administration was taking over in a few weeks.

Superintendent Hofmeister now has the unenviable and unnecessary task of deciding if those brand new employees will be kept on or let go.

I'm glad to see some legislators are going to try to change the law so that lame duck state officials and lawmakers can't make hire people or even worse create new positions on their way out the door.