Reformer Named as Education Secretary

Kerry Mazzoni, a former Marin County assemblywoman who wrote school reform legislation for Gov. Gray Davis, has been named as his new education secretary.

She replaces John Mockler, who was filling the post on an interim basis. Mockler was the second interim secretary since February, when former state Sen. Gary Hart resigned as the Democratic governor’s first top education advisor.

Mazzoni, 51, is a Democrat who formerly headed the Assembly Education Committee. Her third term in the Assembly officially ended on Nov. 30. Under state law, her appointment to the Cabinet post, which had been widely rumored, could not be made official until she had left the Assembly.

The education secretary is paid $118,524 a year.

“Kerry Mazzoni was a driving force for education during her tenure in the Legislature, and now she brings invaluable experience to further my administration’s efforts to improve California schools,” Davis said in a statement late Monday.

“As secretary, she will provide the knowledge and ability needed to move our schools forward and our children to the head of the class.”

The education secretary advises the governor on school-related matters and lobbies the Le

islature to encourage passage of his proposals. The job is separate from the California Department of Education, which is headed by Delaine Eastin, the elected superintendent of public instruction.

Education policy, meanwhile, is set by the state Board of Education, the members of which are also appointed by the governor.

Representing Marin County and southern Sonoma County, Mazzoni helped win passage of a $9.2-billion school construction bond, supported a measure to reduce class size and sponsored legislation to boost teacher training.

Before becoming a lawmaker, Mazzoni served as a school board member in Novato. She is a former chairwoman of the California School Boards Assn., which in 1995 named her freshman legislator of the year.

Mazzoni holds a bachelor’s degree in child development from UC Davis.