COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine has nominated Steve Dackin as director of the state’s new Department of Education and Workforce a year after he resigned from his position as the state superintendent of public instruction amid ethical questions about his hiring for that role.
“Steve Dackin has a broad base of experience that will benefit Ohio’s continued efforts to create a transformative education system that provides the resources and support for students and serves as a pipeline of talented young people to Ohio employers, colleges, universities, and career and technical education centers, helping every Ohioan live up to their God-given potential,” said Governor DeWine. “I look forward to working with Steve in this new role once confirmed by the Ohio Senate.
Dackin resigned from the state superintendent position in June of 2022, less than a month after his controversial hiring.
Dackin sat on the Board of Education prior to his February resignation to apply for the superintendent role.
"I'm not surprised that Mr. Dackin decided he needed to leave the position," Catherine Turcer, spokesperson for Common Cause Ohio, told News 5 at the time. "It's fraught with questions about the suitability of his candidacy."
"He uses his time during while he was [on the board] to actually figure out what is it we need and come up with all of the kinds of job search requirements," she said. "Then we get to February at the very end of all of that planning, and he quickly resigns and puts in his own application at the last minute."
The Ethics Commission was prohibited by law from disclosing an active investigation, so News 5 brought the concerns to Daniel Jaffe, Case Western Reserve University law professor last year.
"You are prohibited from using the influence of your position to secure employment for yourself," Jaffe said. "Whether there's an actual violation depends on what happened."
Dackin resigned in a letter to the Ohio Board of Education, citing "concerns have been raised" about his acceptance of the position, and how he doesn't want "'revolving door' questions to distract from the important work ahead for schools, educators, and especially children."
RELATED: Ohio's head of K-12 education resigns after less than 1 month
Dackin previously served as a Member-at-Large on the State Board of Education, and from 2014 until 2021, was the Superintendent of School and Community Partnerships at Columbus State Community College, “where he managed the college’s creation of a workforce pipeline between K-12 school districts, higher education institutions, employers, and community stakeholders,” according to a news release from DeWine’s office.
He was also a teacher, principal and administrator at various districts around Ohio.
The news release does not specifically mention Dackin’s weeks-long tenure as state superintendent.
The Director of the Department of Education and Workforce must be confirmed by the Ohio Senate prior to assuming the role.
The department, which replaces the Department of Education, was created by a Republican-backed overhaul of the state’s education system. It was made possible in October after a county judge ruled that the conversion could continue after it was stalled by a lawsuit claiming it violated the state constitution.
DeWine has said the change will revamp a failing, disorganized system, but opponents fear giving more control to the governor’s office would result in partisan oversight over schools, not more accountability.
RELATED: Ohio court OKs GOP-backed education overhaul, says stalling would cause ‘chaos’ as lawsuit continues
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