Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is reportedly being wooed by the incoming governor of Florida for the Sunshine State’s top education post.
Rick Scott is looking to replace current Gov. Charlie Crist’s education commissioner, Eric Smith, with his own person, and the feelers Scott put out landed on Rhee, the St. Petersburg Times’ Web site reports.
Rhee, who is traveling, could not be reached for comment. A source close to Rhee said she is considering all options and that Rhee remains “in the exploring stage of the game.”
Scott’s transition team did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Smith has said that he will not resign as commissioner, but the state board of education can move to fire and hire education chiefs.
Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, said the teachers union had “an up and down” relationship with Smith.
“At one point in time during the Race to the Top application, he was not very cooperative,” Pudlow said. The situation improved when Crist created a work group that included more teachers and superintendents.
Rumors have swirled about Rhee’s next move since her Oct. 13 resignation, following Mayor Adrian Fenty’s loss to Mayor-elect Vincent Gray in the Democratic primary. Sources close to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he had made Rhee an offer, but she hesitated because of family; Rhee’s fiance, Kevin Johnson, is the mayor of Sacramento, Calif., while her children are enrolled in D.C. public schools.
But Florida’s recent “Republican takeover” could interest Rhee, political consultant Chuck Thies said. “That may better dovetail with her school reform ideology,” which focused on closing underperforming schools and firing teachers rated ineffective during observations.
Russ Whitehurst, director of the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center of Education Policy, said the state office would require Rhee to adjust her blunt personal style. “These are administrative jobs that call for a lot of sensitivity and skill in dealing with multiple constituencies,” Whitehurst said, adding that the position would have Rhee shuttling funds and making sure districts were following state laws. “Things Michelle focused on in D.C. are outside the direct purview of the education commissioner in Florida.”
Those very things may be why Rhee has not made up her mind, said Chad Aldeman, policy analyst at independent think tank Education Sector: “She’s had a pretty difficult tenure in D.C., so maybe she wants some time off to think and rest.”
