Rick Miller, deputy superintendent for the Department of Education and an architect of the state’s Race to the Top application, is leaving his post at the end of the week.  His departure creates a void, as the state is regrouping in anticipation of applying for the second round of President Obama’s $4.3 billion reform competition.

Miller will join two consultancy firms, as a senior partner with  California Education Partners and as a partner with Sacramento-based Capitol Impact LLC.  One of the principals is Christopher Cabaldon, mayor of West Sacramento and former CEO of EdVoice.

Miller, who would have been out of a job after a new superintendent is elected in November, said he decided several months ago to leave by April 1, whether or not the state won a Race to the Top grant. Lupita Cortez Alcalá, deputy superintendent of Government Affairs and Charter Development, will take over coordinating the next round, he said.  Within a few weeks, the feds will release an evaluation of the state’s unsuccessful application, which should indicate whether it would be worth trying again.

The Race to the Top was a joint effort of the Department of Education, the State Board of Education and the governor’s office, but Miller took the lead and put in huge hours for several months.

The press secretary for U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley in the Clinton administration, Miller worked for seven years in the state Department of Education, the last four years as the deputy secretary for P-16 Policy and the Information Branch, responsible for recommending policies on data use and working with Superintendent Jack O’Connell’s P-16 Council on achievement gap issues.