This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
State Superintendent Brad Smith will sit out the upcoming Utah Legislature due to a 90-day medical leave of absence, according to the Utah Board of Education.
Deputy Superintendent Syd Dickson, a former educator and veteran of the state Office of Education, was named acting state superintendent Friday, with Associate Superintendent Rich Nye serving as Dickson's deputy.
"We wish Brad all the best while he is away," state school board Chairman David Crandall said in a prepared statement. "He has assembled a great team, and we have every confidence in Syd, Rich and other members of the superintendency."
Smith was absent during the board's monthly meeting on Thursday, but attended the board's December meeting.
He also canceled what would have been his first State of Education address in November as a result of ill health.
Emilie Wheeler, spokeswoman for the state school board, described Smith's condition as chronic but not life-threatening.
She said Smith is expected to return to work following the 90-day period, and his decision to take a leave of absence was partly a response to the demands of the upcoming legislative session, which runs from Jan. 25 to March 10.
"It was decided that it would be best to have the same acting or actual superintendent on the hill for the entire session," she said.
Smith was selected as state superintendent in October 2014 following a split 8-7 vote of the state school board.
On the final day of the 2015 legislative session, Smith generated controversy by comparing the organizers of an education rally to unsatisfied children on Christmas morning.
He later apologized, penning an open letter posted on the Utah Office of Education website, in which he described his comments as "unacceptable" and said the weeks of meetings with lawmakers had left him tired and frustrated.
"I do think we need to change and reform," he wrote, "but I just indulged myself in the old rhetoric of criticism and blame."
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