Aurora superintendent is finalist for top state post

Aurora Superintendent Larry Ramaekers was named a finalist Friday for the state's education commissioner job.

He is one of four Nebraska superintendents chosen as finalists by the State Board of Education.

Ramaekers, who is entering his 12th year overseeing Aurora public schools, said he's honored to be considered for a position that he has watched closely for quite some time.

"There's some really big challenges that are facing the state, and I see myself as being up for those challenges," Ramaekers said.

The other finalists are Roger Breed, superintendent of Elkhorn public schools; Virginia Moon, superintendent of Ralston public schools; and Dan Hoesing, who oversees the Laurel-Concord, Coleridge, Newcastle and Wynot school districts.

The four are vying to succeed Doug Christensen, who resigned in July after 14 years in the position.

The new commissioner will step into several complex, hot-button issues, not least a new statewide assessment system approved by the Legislature this spring.

Christensen fought statewide assessments in favor of a district-determined system. But the new commissioner will need to guide the implementation of the new system, which is scheduled to begin next spring, said Fred Meyer of St. Paul, president of the State Board of Education.

Together with a new learning community law going into effect and a new chairman of the Legislature's Education Committee at the departure of Ron Raikes, it will make a new landscape for a new commissioner to oversee.

"Change is the name of the game," Meyer said.

Ramaekers said he sees those new assessments, along with the new learning community law and ensuring there's enough money to fund the new state aid formula, as top priorities for the state Department of Education.

And like Meyer, he also said the new education commissioner must work to rebuild relationships with members of the Legislature and the governor's office.

"I think that in the past, the Department of Education has not been as active of a player in that as maybe it should be," Ramaekers said of assessment and state aid. "I want to make sure the Department of Education is at the table."

Ramaekers said he began considering applying for the position early this summer, after he was encouraged by several people.

As someone who has spent his entire professional life in education, Ramaekers said, he had always had an interest in the position.

Ramaekers was superintendent at Sandy Creek public schools in Clay County for 16 years before he arrived at Aurora. Before that, he spent four years as a high school principal and five years as a teacher.

Meyer said the board's top priority for a new commissioner is a deeply grounded passion for education, along with administrative skills to oversee the 500-employee department and strength in communication with other officials.

The board will interview the four finalists in public sessions Sept. 22. It plans to announce its choice Oct. 3.