Michelle Rhee: Mayoral control of schools facilitates reform
Controversial education reformer Michelle Rhee spoke at a Sacramento Press Club event Monday, where she said California schools face an uphill battle without mayoral control.
MIchelle Rhee speaking at Monday's Press Club event. Rhee, is chancellor of the Washington DC Public Schools system and fiancee of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. May 24, 2010
Rhee, the fiancée of Mayor Kevin Johnson, joked as she acknowledged the nicknames she's garnered as the outspoken chancellor of the Washington D.C. Public Schools system.
"People have called me the terminator, the hammer, the dragon lady," said Rhee, who served on the board of Johnson's St. HOPE Public Schools in 2006 and 2007.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty hired Rhee in 2007 after persuading his City Council to give him authority over the school system's operations and budget.
