The No. 2 person at the Education Commission of the
States recently resigned, as did many other staff members, citing poor
management and financial difficulties. Kathy Christie, the Senior Vice President
of the Information Clearinghouse Division at ECS, said that the current
President Piedad Robertson was not being honest about the organization's
financial troubles, according to an Education Week story posted
today.
Having worked under Kathy Christie, I can testify to her integrity and her love
for ECS. If Kathy is blowing the whistle over these financial issues, you can
be sure there is a significant problem. The Edjurist wishes Ms. Christie all the
best in her future endeavors and is sure she will land solidly on her feet
somewhere, even if that is hiking in the mountains on sunny afternoons.
The Education Commission of the States is one of the best organizations in
education, period. From the Edjurist perspective, the 50 state StateNotes
compiled by the Information Clearinghouse Division are invaluable in saving
research time. More importantly, however, the Commission is a state
collaboration in a field that was devoted to the States under the Constitution.
Most states have a provision in their education code's subscribing their state
to the "interstate compact" on education. The states are forced to
work together under their own state codes, a monumental success in government.
Further, ECS is a political training ground in education for future leaders of
the
Names of past ECS
commissioners include John Chaffee, Bill Clinton, John Ashcroft, Evan Bayh,
Tommy Thompson, Paul Patton, and Mark Warner. Even current ECS chairman Mike
Huckabee has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
Education needs a healthy ECS. Hopefully Christie's actions and the actions of
her fellow ECS employees will get the organization back on track.