D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is more likely to choose a district-level position than the New Jersey state post offered to her, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“I want to go where I will have the most impact and, to me, the most radical changes can happen at the local level,” Rhee said. “That’s why I am strongly considering possibilities in other districts” outside of D.C.
Gov. Chris Christie reportedly offered Rhee the vacant education commissioner spot, but Rhee expressed concerns about being closer to her fiance, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Rhee declined to comment on the offer to both The Washington Examiner and The Wall Street Journal.
Russ Whitehurst, director of the Brooking Institution’s Brown Center of Education Policy, said state-level education positions are “rarely a point of great influence.”
“My guess is Michelle Rhee would find such an office frustrating, compared to the on-the-ground work she’s done running a school district,” Whitehurst said. “It’s largely a job to make sure the rules are followed and the appropriate audits are carried out.”
