Gov. Jerry Brown set to announce elimination of education office

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Gov. Jerry Brown is set to announce the elimination of the office of the education secretary. The announcement could come as early as Thursday.

Brown had targeted the office during the campaign as an example of bureaucratic redundancy. Brown spokesman Evan Westrup would not confirm any planned announcement, but the 11 employees in the education secretary’s office were already packing boxes and have been notified that their office has been targeted for elimination.

The education secretary is not a Cabinet position. The secretary serves as an adviser to the governor on education policy. Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan was among those who held the post under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The office was created by Gov. Pete Wilson in the 1990s during his clashes with state Supt. Bill Honig. Ironically, or perhaps tellingly, Honig was named by Brown to serve on the state Board of Education on Wednesday.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento