Michelle Rhee: Making Change In Florida

OTR seldom listens to talk radio, but he did awake this morning to Neal Boortz, who rants on his program as the chief priest of what he calls "The Church of the Painful Truth." After more than twenty years as a resident of Atlanta, Boortz recently honored his wife's wish to relocate to Florida, Naples to be exact. They owned a condo there for many years, so Boortz has often found "local" political themes to bring to his listeners and his website. That was the case this morning when he mentioned the significance of Michelle Rhee's appointment as Florida's Commissioner of Education. Rhee made significant improvements in Washington, DC, as chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools system. Rhee's extraordinary reforms, among other politics, energized the local teachers unions to oppose the re-election of Mayor Adrian Fenty. He was defeated in the November elections. Rhee resigned prior to the election after seeing its outcome on the horizon.

Boortz sees this loss for Washington students as a great opportunity for Florida, a state without an income tax, but one burdened by a mediocre school system. If Rhee, as a member of Republican Governor Rick Scott's cabinet, can work her magic on the schools, Florida should once again become a magnet for those who understand and appreciate the value and meaning of entrepreneurship, wealth preservation and quality education. Boortz also sees Florida's expansion as very costly to Georgia, a state in need of serious educational reform. Georgia could well be flirting with ending its income tax, already having done so for virtually all retirees, but many of its schools would continue to stall improvement particularly in core urban centers and small rural counties.

It will be interesting for OTR to see how Georgia handles the competition from her southern neighbor. Unless Georgia's leadership wakes up to the pending Scott-Rhee reforms and the tax differential, Boortz predicts that a savvy Atlanta businessman could make a fortune arranging relocations to the Sunshine State. The people will always gravitate to multiple opportunities. Boortz generally avoids inflammatory rhetoric, so OTR respects his interpretation of this pending scenario. Perhaps this wake-up call could bring the necessary improvements to the Peach State. Imagine the two coastal states of Georgia and Florida as a great magnet with a combined population of 26,000,000 people (2010), 40 congressmen, no state income tax, other business-friendly incentives, quality education systems at all levels, and a superb geography and climate. This is, for certain, the kind of hope and change that Americans are waiting for. Rhee could play a major role in that transformation. OTR wishes her the best.