BY MATTHEW STONE

Staff Writer

Maine's education commissioner will lead a national association of her peers as the Obama administration prepares to spend billions of dollars on education reform.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron has been named president of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the organization said Thursday. The group is the national association for state education commissioners.

Gendron has been the organization's president-elect since November 2008. She replaces Ken James, who recently resigned as Arkansas' education commissioner.

Gendron takes over at a time when the council, along with the National Governors Association, is pushing for the development of a common set of math and reading standards that states can opt to use.

The effort is one supported by President Barack Obama, who has complained that individual states' expectations for their graduates vary too widely.

Gendron's appointment also comes as the Obama administration prepares to award $4.4 billion in education reform funds that are part of the federal economic stimulus package.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says states such as Maine put themselves at a "competitive disadvantage" for those funds because they don't allow charter schools.

But Gendron's status as head of the council puts her in a position in which she'll be working to "champion the council's focus on building an enhanced state-federal partnership between state education agencies and the U.S. Department of Education and the Obama Administration," according to the statement announcing her appointment.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com