Though he’d been on the job for only about six months, Roger Quarles resigned from his position at the State Department of Education earlier this week. Supt. Luna sent a memo to local school superintendents and principals on Thursday announcing his resignation.
Quarles will return to his post at Boise State University, where he is co-leading the Albertson Foundation-funded Idaho Leads project.
According to media reports, Quarles took a leave of absence from BSU in July to help the SDE sort out complaints about the SchoolNet program.
Luna’s announcement earlier this week that he would not be seeking re-election precipitated the resignation, according to the memo issued by Luna. Quarles told Idaho Ed News that he had agreed to move to the SDE with the understanding that Supt. Luna would seek re-election.
Quarles, a former teacher, administrator and superintendent of the Caldwell School District, also made it clear in his conversations with the media that he will not enter the race to replace Luna.
