Gov. Phil Murphy has just nominated a new Education Commissioner, Angelica Allen-McMillan.

Here’s Murphy’s statement:

“From day one, I pledged to select a Commissioner of Education with experience in public education. We fulfilled that promise through the nomination of Dr. Repollet, and maintain that promise today. A product of New Jersey’s public schools, Angelica has worked at all levels of education and knows exactly what our teachers and students need to succeed. She is an exemplary educator and I’m confident she is the leader we need to carry our school communities through the remainder of this pandemic and beyond.”

Her previous experience includes interim executive county superintendent of Morris County since 2018. assistant superintendent in Newark and Irvington, and a gym teacher in East Orange. She also was executive director of Marion P. Thomas Charter School in Newark. Previously she served as a school board member in Montclair.

From Politico:

If confirmed, Allen-McMillan will be taking over a strained department just as coronavirus cases are beginning to tick upward again and school districts are reevaluating their reopening plans.

Superintendents across the state and some lawmakers have been critical of the DOE’s handling of the pandemic, saying many of the administration’s guidance documents and attempts to aid districts have come “too late,”