House budget aide to be deputy education commish

This from Ryan Alessi at PolWatchers:

The Education Department has hired Ruth Webb, a legislative aide who has been lauded by lawmakers for her work in helping to craft budget bills, to be a deputy commissioner.

Webb, who will earn about $131,000 a year, will work with the agency's budget as well as with school districts, said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the department.

The position was opened up by the retirement of deputy commissioner of operations and support services, Kevin Noland.

"She is going to be working more directly with school districts than the previous person in this position was," Gross said. "It includes things like education technology and internal administration, legal services and those types of things."

Webb, who also is a lawyer, doesn't have a start date with the agency, Gross said.

Webb has worked closely with Democratic Rep. Harry Moberly of Richmond, who is the chairman of the powerful House appropriations and revenue committee that handles the state budget. Moberly honored Webb on the floor of the House after the passage of this last budget for helping the lawmakers put together the final version of the bill on a tight deadline...