Education Nominee's Senate Hearing Begins

[Rose Siding]

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With little public attention, Spellings became one of Bush's most trusted advisers over the last decade and had a big hand in federal school policy during his first term as president.

If departing Secretary Rod Paige, who came to Washington as a superintendent from Houston, was the reform-minded outsider, then Spellings is the loyal insider. She was Bush's chief education adviser in Texas and his domestic policy adviser inside the White House.
...
The tight relationship between Bush and Spellings could give the education secretary more power.

"Influence often depends on how close you are to the president," said Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander (news - web sites) of Tennessee, a former education secretary. "That means Margaret will give the Department of Education (news - web sites) unprecedented influence."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050106/ap_on_go_co/education_spellings

TX's 2000 rankings among states ("She was Bush's chief education adviser in Texas")

< Percentage of Population Graduated
from High School13 46th
< High School Completion Rate14 45th
< State Aid per Pupil15 41st
< Secondary Teachers with Degrees in the Subjects
they Teach16 45th
< Average Teacher Salaries17 30th
< Percent of Adults with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree18 27th
< Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores19 47th

http://www.shapleigh.org/files/focus_documents3.pdf

Another catastophic success.