National Association of Charter School Authorizers’ (NACSA) President and CEO Greg Richmond joined fellow education leaders today to launch the National Journal’s Education Expert Blog (http://education.nationaljournal.com). The Education Expert Blog will feature one question a week, and throughout the week, education decision-makers and thought leaders will weigh in with their own opinions and respond to one another, which can lead to compelling debates over key policy questions.

“I am honored to be a part of this blog launch,” Richmond stated. “This is a great time for the education reform movement and the charter school community, with the Obama Administration making education a key priority. I look forward to joining my colleagues in discussing innovative strategies and new policies for education, particularly with regard to improving the quality of the charter sector through strong and thoughtful authorizing.”

Moderating the blog will be National Journal staff correspondent Lisa Caruso and staff writer Eliza Krigman. Caruso, who already handles identical duties for the highly successful Transportation Expert Blog, covers education, transportation and immigration for National Journal, which she joined in 2003 after working for its sister publication, CongressDaily.

“My goal for National Journal’s Education Expert Blog is to provide a dynamic online forum for experts of widely differing politics and points of view to engage in a serious debate of the most pressing issues in education policy today,” Caruso said. “I hope that readers and experts alike are challenged in their thinking and exposed to new ideas that perhaps will even influence the way education policy is made.”

The blog boasts a roster of more than 50 education experts drawn from government, think tanks, advocacy groups and academia. Contributors include Education Secretary Arne Duncan along with two of his predecessors, Margaret Spellings and Rod Paige. Congressional insights will come from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., a former Denver Public Schools superintendent, and Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee. Other organizations with a voice on the blog include the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the United Negro College Fund and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

The opening question for the Education Expert Blog will focus on the use of stimulus funds for education expenses: “Given the bleak budgetary outlook for many states, should stimulus funds be primarily devoted to staving off education cuts or should the administration focus on leveraging the money to drive its reform agenda?”