Union leaders thought a cabinet-level agency would give more federal attention, and thus money, to public schools.
He said it should be a cabinet-level agency whose secretary reports directly to the president.
Instead, it would propose making the department a cabinet-level agency under the direct control of the governor.
In that capacity, she led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million.
President Fox has created a new cabinet-level agency to work on issues of Mexicans abroad.
Deputy secretaries of cabinet-level agencies usually have this rank.
"We need to create a robust, cabinet-level agency, led by a strong director, that has the clout and resources to make the homeland security mission work."
Created as a cabinet-level agency in 1980 at the end of the Carter Administration, the department has endured 12 years of neglect.
Those concerns mirrored objections raised earlier this month by the State Department and three other Cabinet-level agencies.
Pennsylvania Department of Health is a cabinet-level agency in Pennsylvania.
