The word from Sacramento is that Gov. Schwarzenegger will soon name Bonnie Reiss, long-time friend and adviser, as his sixth — and, I hope, last  — secretary of education.

Reiss served as a senior adviser for the governor from 2003-07. He nominated her to the UC Board of Regents two years ago.  In 1992, Reiss established Schwarzenegger’s non-profit After School All Stars, and ran it for six years. Reiss is currently a partner in the Pegasus Sustainable Century Merchant Bank.

There had been speculation that  the governor might leave the job vacant or appoint Undersecretary of Education Kathy Gaither-Radtkey, who was his point person for the Race to the Top application. Or he could have abolished the office altogether, as a gesture to budget cutters and let the next governor fight to reestablish it, since the office, with little statutory power, has become a revolving door of frustration.

But with need for another Race to the Top application likely, the governor will want his hand in shaping it.