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[BoF]

Freed from political calculations in picking Cabinet secretaries, Bush is turning to old friends from Texas and trusted aides to run the federal bureaucracy. His selection Tuesday of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to replace Secretary of State Colin Powell was just the latest example.

Critics worry that the trend will choke off dissenting voices in an administration known for discipline, message management and a tendency to equate dissent with disloyalty. Most of the departing secretaries came to the Bush administration with their own.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/10197678.htm?1c

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday named White House domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings to be the nation's eighth education secretary. ‘The issue of education is close to my heart and on this vital issue there's no one I trust more than Margaret Spellings', Bush told her.

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‘I am a product of our public schools,' she said as her voice started to crack. 'I believe in America's schools, what they mean to each child, to each future president or future domestic policy adviser and to the strength of our great country.’

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Spellings worked for six years as Bush's education adviser in Texas, pushing policies on early reading and student accountability. They became the model for the federal law, No Child Left Behind, that Spellings helped put together from the White House after Bush's election in 2000.

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Kress has known Spellings since she was a lobbyist for the Texas Association of School Boards in the early 1990s. He called her practical, willing to take a partial victory, then come back and fight again for the rest of the win.

'She's conservative, but she'll listen to teachers, she'll listen to administrators,’ Kress said. ‘She wants to change the system, but she wants to talk to people in the system.’

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Spellings, 46, will take over leadership of the Education Department at a crucial time. Many lawmakers, teachers and parents are frustrated by No Child Left
Behind, which gives more attention to poor and minority students, but penalizes some low-income schools that fall short.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/10205054.htm

Spellings, 46, will take over leadership of the Education Department at a crucial time. Many lawmakers, teachers and parents are frustrated by No Child Left Behind, which gives more attention to poor and minority students, but penalizes some low-income schools that fall short.

‘This is a great opportunity for the administration to change the tone of its discourse with the education community, particularly the 2.7 million members of the National Education Association who are in schools all over this nation,’ NEA President Reg Weaver said.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/10203451.htm

The ranking Democrat on the Senate education committee, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, said Tuesday that 'Spellings is a capable, principled leader who has the ear of the president and has earned strong, bipartisan respect in Congress.’

Despite Kennedy’s support, there is some conservative opposition.

Some conservatives, such as Reagan education secretary William J. Bennett, have expressed disappointment at her appointment, on the grounds that she is too pragmatic and insufficiently committed to such ideas as school choice. 'The emphasis will be on standards and accountability rather than choice-based reform,' said Frederick M. Hess, an education expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Nov17.html

Spelling's biography on the White House webpage is a bit sketchy.

Margaret Spellings currently serves as the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. She is responsible for the development and implementation of White House policy on education, health, labor, transportation, justice, housing and other elements of President Bush's domestic agenda.

Prior to her White House appointment, Mrs. Spellings worked for six years as Governor George W. Bush's Senior Advisor with responsibility for developing and implementing the Governor's education policy. Her work included the Texas Reading Initiative, the Student Success Initiative to eliminate social promotion, and the Nation's strongest school assessment and accountability system. She also made recommendations to the Governor for key gubernatorial appointments

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/spellings-bio.html

Here’s a little more from American President.org

Margaret Spellings was born in Houston in 1958 and earned her B.A. from the University of Houston.

After serving as the associate executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards, she ran a select committee on education for Texas Governor William P. Clements. La Montagne then served George W. Bush in 1994 as political director in his first successful gubernatorial campaign. From 1994 to 2000, she was a senior adviser to Governor George W. Bush and oversaw education reform in Texas.

http://www.americanpresident.org/action/or...s/a_index.shtml

Margaret Spellings, George W. Bush’s nominee for Secretary of Education raises some questions in my mind. As I read various accounts, I find that she has an interest in education, is a "product" of the public schools, has worked on some citizen committees, has worked as a lobbyist, has worked with Bush since his earliest days in politics, has bipartisan support in Congress and was the chief architect of and may become the chief expander of “No Child Left Behind.”

What I don’t find are any specific qualifications for the post. She has never had any practical experience as a teacher, mid-level administrator or school superintendent. In fact, attainment of a bachelor’s certificate is not even enough to earn an administrator’s certificate in Texas.

Note: Links provided may require registration.

I have tried to present information on both sides of the question. My questions for debate are:

1. Is Margaret Spellings a good nominee for Secretary of Education?

2. Is her selection part of Bush's "mandate" or "political capital" expendiature?

3. Will she be confirmed by the Senate?

4. Will her lack of experience as a professional educator hinder her job performance?

Edited for visuals and typos.

This post has been edited by BoF: Nov 19 2004, 11:32 PM