The final door to the State Board of Education has been closed for Rae Belisle, the former CEO of EdVoice. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's one-sentence letter to the Senate didn't elaborate on the reasons for withdrawing Belisle's nomination.
California Watch reported last Thursday that Belisle, who had served as a board member since March 2009, was not going to be reappointed due to heavy opposition from a wide array of education and minority groups.
Belisle said she was told by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg that she wouldn't get a confirmation hearing because he felt she was too close to charter schools, was too uncompromising overall and didn't work hard enough to build consensus.
She denied the claims and accused her critics of seeking revenge for past policy battles. There has been no word on any replacement for Belisle or Jorge Lopez, another Schwarzenegger appointee to the state board who resigned on Feb. 12.
Belisle said Lopez, an executive director of a charter school academy in Oakland, decided to step down after being questioned by the Senate over his financial dealings at his schools. Lopez has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Lopez didn't respond to California Watch's requests for comment.
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