Rep. Melton to resign, take job with Michelle Rhee's education reform group
Karen Bouffard/ Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Lansing — Democratic State Rep. Tim Melton is dropping plans to run for the 14th District U.S. House seat and will instead move to Sacramento, Calif., to focus on education reform.
Melton of Auburn Hills announced on his Facebook page Tuesday that he will join StudentsFirst, the education reform group founded by Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools. Melton's resignation is effective Sept. 9.
Melton said he may have come to the group's attention while drumming up support for a possible Congressional bid. He was also named Education Reformer of the Month in July by the national Democrats for Education Reform group.
"I was strongly considering running for Congress, so I was talking to some major education reform groups to ask for their support," Melton said. "My name was circulating."
Melton was House Education Committee Chair during the last legislative session, when Democrats had control of the House. He was a leader in pushing through changes to teacher tenure and other major education reforms, often over objections from fellow Democrats. StudentsFirst advocates merit pay, tenure reform and
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110830/POLITICS02/108300388/Rep.-Melton-to-resign--take-job-with-Michelle-Rhee’s-education-reform-group#ixzz1WX75MKLP