Glenda Ritz considers running for governor after legislative attacks

Democratic State Schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz announced Thursday she is considering running for governor one day, after the end of a brutal legislative session in which Republican leaders and Gov. Mike Pence further curbed her powers.

"After this session there's absolutely nothing off the table," Ritz, the superintendent of public instruction, said Thursday. "First priority is getting through this school year, because we're in the midst of testing, and getting all that done. But after that, I'm going to sit down with my family and determine what is best for the children and families of Indiana."

Republicans lawmakers approved a measure Wednesday, in the final hours of the 2015 session, which overhauls the State Board of Education, including a further shift of power from Ritz's Department of Education to Pence's state board. Republican supporters of the measure called it a compromise because it pushed back any removal of Ritz as state board chair until 2017, but Democrats insisted it was a power grab.

Pence also supported a last-minute move to shift oversight of the state's school voucher program from Ritz to the Republican-dominated board, but the measure was scrapped Wednesday after reporters wrote about it.

Ritz had previously said she was running for re-election as school superintendent next year. But she said Thursday that decision was made before this year's bruising fights inside the Statehouse.

"After viewing the outcome of this General Assembly session, it's caused me to have pause and to actually look at how I might want to reframe to move education forward," Ritz said.

This story will be updated.

Call Star reporter Tom LoBianco at (317) 444-7136. Follow him on Twitter: @tomlobianco.