CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On Tuesday, the West Virginia Board of Education will vote on approving Dr. Michael Martirano as the new State Superintendent.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he thinks the hire is a good move.
“It looks like he’s had some great accomplishments and successes in Maryland in, really, the kind of areas very similar to what most of West Virginia is,” he said. “With the extensive search that they did, I think the board did make the right decision.”
Martirano will come to the state during a time of education reform throughout the state. Last year, Tomblin proposed legislation, which was approved by the legislature and signed into law attempting to, among many other things, assure children could read on grade level by 3rd grade and high school graduates were prepared for college and the work force.
Tomblin said the reform is not done and Martirano will play a big role in the future.
“That’s only the beginning and we’ve had a great relationship with the board, they continue to make changes in their policies and to bring the new superintendent on with great deal of experience, I think, is going to be very helpful as we try to move forward to improve education in West Virginia,” he said.
After the board’s vote Tuesday, Tomblin would like to see Martirano hit the ground running to be prepared to take full control over the position as soon as possible.
“Hopefully, by the first part or middle of July, he’ll come on board before school starts to get him acclimated to the state department and the people there,” Tomblin said. “I think that’s very important.”
Martirano may not be at full speed in the position until sometime this fall.