Mass. Early Education Chief Killins Resigns

The state commissioner of early education and care has stepped down, but says her resignation is unrelated to criticism of her participation in a school superintendent mentoring program.

Sherri Killins tells The Republican of Springfield that she stepped down Monday because it was "a good time for a transition," adding that she was not pressured to resign.

Killins' participation in a superintendent training program in Ware was under review by Secretary of Education Matthew Malone. The program required about 300 hours of tutoring that would prepare Killins to be a school superintendent.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday defended Killins' work and said that the investigation had nothing to do with her resignation.

"She did a terrific job," Patrick said. "The record speaks for itself and the work that the secretary has done to get to the bottom of the allegations turns out that she didn't do anything wrong."

Her participation in the mentoring program had come under question because it was said to detract from the official duties of her $200,000-per-year job.

Malone has appointed Undersecretary of Education Tom Weber to replace Killins on an interim basis.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom.