“After six years of service, I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to pass the baton.”
Citing personal reasons and a belief that it’s time to “pass the baton,” Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced he will resign next month.
In a letter to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Riley said he would step down on March 15 after six years of heading up the state’s K-12 school system. Riley recommended Deputy Commissioner Russell Johnston, who served as the West Springfield school superintendent from 2010 to 2014, as acting commissioner. To help with the transition, Riley will act as an advisor through the end of this school year.
“After six years of service, I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to pass the baton,” Riley said in his resignation letter. “On a personal level, my role as a son to aging parents requires more of my time, and my commitment to provide that support is not compatible with the demands of the commissioner’s job. More broadly, as I reflected on major new initiatives such as the Literacy Launch, I realized the commonwealth needs and deserves a commissioner who can commit on an all-in basis for at least another five years, and I simply cannot do that.”