EDUCATION: New leadership

Florida's education overhaul is a reality. The State University System's Board of Regents is being abolished, along with the elected Cabinet position of education commissioner. All public education, from kindergarten through graduate schools, will be directed at the state level by an appointed secretary and a new board.

Any time there is significant change, it's likely to be controversial -- and we were initially among the skeptics. But a decision has been made, and the new system should be given a fair chance to work.

Fortunately, Gov. Jeb Bush got the system off to a good start when he appointed state Sen. Jim Horne, R-Orange Park, as education secretary.

A spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party says Horne was a poor choice because he isn't an educator. That would be a valid complaint if the secretary's job was to teach classes or evaluate individual instructors. But his job will be administrative, and he is uniquely qualified to work on school budget and educational policy issues.

Horne is a professional accountant who has immersed himself in education issues since his election to the Legislature in 1994. He's chairman of the Senate appropriations committee and has been selected by the Miami Herald as one of the upper chamber's two most effective members.

The only problem with the appointment is that it removes Horne from the center of a legislative examination of the state's tax structure.

Among those applauding Horne's appointment was the president of the Florida Education Association. Although the FEA doesn't normally ally itself with Republicans, she said Horne takes a bipartisan approach and "is somebody that we can work with."

Bush is a Republican and up for re-election next year, so the Democratic Party has a vested interest in the reform failing -- or at least in a public perception that it has failed. That's good politics but poor policy.

Everyone needs to put aside short-term political expediency and concentrate on doing what is right for Florida's children.