PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In a letter hand-delivered to the Rhode Island Ethics Commission Wednesday afternoon, Eva-Marie Mancuso argues "there is sufficient evidence of hardship'' to allow her to move from chairwoman of the state Board of Education to interim commissioner of higher education.
Her letter centers on a provision in the state Ethics Code that bars appointed and elected officials from accepting any appointment that requires the approval of a board of which they are a member.
The code allows -- and the Ethics Commission has in the past granted -- exceptions when denial would "create a substantial hardship for the body, board or municipality.''
Mancuso's seven-page letter says that Raymond DiPasquale, who has been doubling as higher education commissioner and president of the Community College of Rhode Island, is "no longer able'' to do both jobs "during a search for a permanent replacement.''
She said the board, which she chairs, has "determined it needs someone who can hit the ground running and is intimately familiar with the board's work and procedures.''
Mancuso said: "Lack of direction for higher education would undoubtedly cause Rhode Island to fall behind and harm the quality of public education.''
She also notes the legislature cut the Office of Higher Eduction budget in half, in anticipation of eliminating the office entirely on July 1, 2014, and this means "all previously performed Office of Higher Education Duties will fall solely on the commissioner ... without the benefit of professional support staff.''
"I should also note,'' she wrote,''that time is of the essence in this Ethics Commission ruling.''
Mancuso would be paid $200,000 a year.
There has been no response yet from the Ethics Commission.
Mancuso Letter to R.I. Ethics Commission.pdf