Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Politics / Education StudentsFirst Leader Michelle Rhee Meets the Press
Posted by Steven Hale on Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 12:28 PM
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As seen above, former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor and part-time Nashvillian Michelle Rhee was part of this Sunday's roundtable on Meet the Press. The entire panel can be seen here.
It's worth watching, since Rhee — who oversaw the elimination of tenure in D.C. schools — started StudentsFirst, which has become a big player in Tennessee politics at every level. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported earlier this month that the PAC started by StudentsFirst led all others in terms of giving to state legislative candidates, with a total of $105,000 in contributions.
The PAC also contributed $3,000 each to Metro school board candidates — and fundraising juggernauts — Elissa Kim and Margaret Dolan.
Back in April, Rhee wrote a letter to Gov. Bill Haslam, urging him to veto a bill limiting the number of foreign workers in Tennessee charter schools. Haslam allowed the bill to pass without his signature, but said he would seek a formal opinion from the state's attorney general on the bill's constitutionality.
