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Ortega to step down as education secretary
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Department of Education Secretary Noe Ortega will resign his position April 29, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday.
The governor said he will name Eric Hagarty as acting secretary.
“Noe is a dedicated advocate for all students and I’m grateful for his service to our commonwealth,” Wolf said in a release. “He led the department through unprecedented times, ensuring a safe return to in-person learning and providing access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines. His successful efforts to diversify our educator workforce and improve opportunities for students to obtain postsecondary education opportunities will undoubtedly continue to impact our learners for years to come.”
Prior to becoming secretary, Ortega was the Education Department’s deputy secretary and commissioner for the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education.
Hagarty currently serves as Wolf’s deputy chief of staff responsible for implementing the governor’s priorities and policies relating to education, including the “Level Up” program to invest more in Pennsylvania‘s chronically underfunded schools, the COVID-19 vaccine initiative for teachers and the safe return to in-person learning, regulatory reforms to the state‘s charter school system, and generational investments in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
