Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) announced on Friday that his Secretary of Education Noe Ortega is stepping down and that Wolf’s Deputy Chief of Staff Eric Hagarty will replace him.
The administration said Ortega will be presently dedicating his free time to his family and mulling potential next career steps.
“Noe is a dedicated advocate for all students and I’m grateful for his service to our commonwealth,” Wolf said in a statement. “He led the department through unprecedented times, ensuring a safe return to in-person learning and providing access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines. His successful efforts to diversify our educator workforce and improve opportunities for students to obtain postsecondary education opportunities will undoubtedly continue to impact our learners for years to come.”
Ortega came to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in 2017 as deputy secretary and commissioner for the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education. He ascended to the agency’s top spot in 2020. Before coming to the Keystone State, he worked for eight years at the University of Michigan in various managerial and research capacities.
“It has been a tremendous honor to lead the Department of Education during an unprecedented moment in the history of the commonwealth and I am extremely proud of the accomplishments made and the resiliency demonstrated by the PDE team throughout my tenure,” Ortega said. “Thank you, Governor Wolf, for the opportunity to lead the department. Together, we worked tirelessly to ensure that every learner in Pennsylvania has access to a high-quality and equitable educational opportunity.”
Hagarty works on implementation of Wolf’s education policies, recently focusing on the “Level Up” initiative to increase funding for schools the governor considers underfunded. The program has been controversial as some experts have pointed out that school districts with poorer populations already get higher allocations of state tax dollars per student than wealthier districts do.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Noe Ortega” by Pennsylvania Department of Education. Photo “Classroom” by Wokandapix.
