LePage nominates Heritage Policy Center’s Bowen for education chief

[Maine-ah]

AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s nominee to head the Department of Education pledged Wednesday to tap into the decade he spent in the classroom and his work as an education policy analyst to help innovate Maine’s public schools.

But the state Board of Education and some lawmakers pointed to Stephen Bowen’s lack of administrative experience as a potential weakness for the commissioner candidate. And Democrats are expressing concerns about Bowen’s ties to the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank that has backed charter schools and other controversial reforms.

A former middle school and high school teacher, Bowen has directed the Maine Heritage Policy Center’s education program since 2007. The former legislator has for the past several months held a prominent position in LePage’s inner circle, serving as senior policy adviser.

The 41-year-old Rockport resident actually was the first of numerous candidates to turn down the education commissioner post after LePage approached him about the job in December. But Bowen said Wednesday that as the search continued, he was inspired by LePage’s vision and intrigued by the challenges facing the department.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/16/politics/lepage-nominates-heritage-policy-center%E2%80%99s-bowen-for-education-commissioner/