Talk about the ultimate insider.

Darrel Galera spent 30 years in the state Department of Education — 13 as Moanalua High School principal — before retiring in 2013. He’s a supporter of Gov. David Ige, who appointed Galera to chair the new Governor’s ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Team in April 2016, then to a Board of Education vacancy in October 2016. In his stint at the BOE, Galera was one of three members of a subcommittee that devised a process to select a new schools superintendent, after Kathryn Matayoshi’s contract was not renewed despite positive evaluations.

Now, Galera has resigned from the BOE to apply for the superintendent job. A BOE search committee will take applications till April and recommend at least two finalists to the board for action in June.

There’s much room for improvement in the public schools, but there’s also much to cheer and champion. For the sake of the kids, let’s get the best champion available.