Tony Bennet Serves as Florida's New Education Commissioner

Turning to Florida, HUGE news!

Tony Bennett, Indiana's outgoing Republican superintendent for public instruction, will move to Florida to serve as the state's new education commissioner.

The State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to hire Bennett to oversee the Florida's public schools and colleges. Bennett is expected to carry over his school reform agenda from Indiana that focused on the Common Core State Standards, a set of national benchmarks for reading and math.

"I think his ability to be up to speed quickly will be very important for the state of Florida," Florida board member John Padget told the Orlando Sentinel of Bennett.

Bennett's time in Indiana was defined by a number of initiatives that mirror Florida's school reform efforts, including grading schools on an A-F scale, expanding charter schools and voucher programs, evaluating teachers based on student performance and pushing for turnaround efforts in failing schools.

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I find it hilarious how often the unions think they win by engineering the ouster of a reformer – and then the reformer comes back on an ever bigger stage to torment them even more! Exhibit A is Michelle Rhee and now Bennett has moved to a state with THREE TIMES the population!