INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Gov. Mike Pence is asking a national school boards group to step into an ongoing power struggle with state Schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz.

The fight between Ritz and Pence reached a new level this week when the Democratic schools superintendent stormed out of a meeting of the State Board of Education.

On Friday, the Republican governor wrote a letter to state education board members offering guidance from the National Association of State Boards of Education.

The fight over control of Indiana's education policy has been escalating throughout the year.

Ritz chairs the board as schools superintendent, but the other board members were appointed by either Pence or former Gov. Mitch Daniels. Pence's creation of a new education agency prompted Ritz to accuse the governor of a “complete takeover'' of education.