President of Remade Board of Education Won't Run Again

Discussion Policy

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

By Michael Birnbaum

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 28, 2008; Page B04

D.C. State Board of Education President Robert C. Bobb will not be a candidate for the board in November.

He did not meet yesterday's 5 p.m. deadline for filing nominating petitions, the key step to getting his name on the ballot. A D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics official said Bobb never picked up petition forms.

Bobb did not return repeated calls for comment and did not attend a meeting of the board last night. Earlier this month, he expressed misgivings about the transition of the board to an all-elected body -- it currently comprises five elected members and two mayoral appointees. He said that holding elections gives constituents the illusion that the board has more power than it does.

"In most states, the State Board of Education members are appointed and not elected," Bobb said. "If it's an advisory board at policy . . . there is no reason why it should not be an appointed board."

During nearly two years in office, Bobb has presided over two very different iterations of the board. He was elected to a local board that had control over day-to-day school operations. He leaves as president of a body designed to function like a state board, with oversight of school standards. His role changed in June 2007 after Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) took over the public school system. Fenty named Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee to run the schools and limited the board's responsibilities.

Bobb came to the District in 2003 as city administrator under then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D). He resigned in 2006 to run for the school board. Before joining the District government, he had worked as a government manager in Oakland, Calif., Santa Ana, Calif., and Richmond, but he had never worked in education.

Bobb had been expected to run for the at-large seat against current appointed member Ted Trabue. Bobb's decision not to run means Trabue will be unopposed in November.

"Robert Bobb is a gentleman who has a great deal of expertise in municipal finance and organizational structures," Trabue said. "And what we are doing on the board right now does not have a financial or organizational aspect."