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GOP changes plan to remove Ritz

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Republicans in the General Assembly are backing off the proposal to remove Democratic State School Superintendent Glenda Ritz as the chairman of the State Board of Education.

A conference committee was presented with a bill Monday that permits the board to elect its own chairman, but not until January of 2017.

That’s after the 2016 election when the state school superintendent is on the ballot.

“We think this is a good compromise for what has been proposed,” said Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle.) “It’s not been necessarily about who the board chair is as much as being able to get the job done.”

The bill would make other changes to the Board of Education. They include reducing the size of it from 11 to 9 and giving two of the governor’s appointments to legislative leaders.

Lawmakers must act on the bill by Wednesday.