Schools Matter: What Does Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Know About Carol Spizzirri, And When Did He Know It?

Halloween season is an appropriate time to talk about rattling skeletons in the closet. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appears to have a noisy one dating from his years running the Chicago Public Schools.

Her name is Carol J. Spizzirri.

A little background.

Spizzirri (pdf) is a convicted shoplifter. According to a sworn affidavit by her ex-husband, a court ordered psychological evaluation (pdf) diagnosed her as a paranoid schizophrenic and pathological liar. Spizzirri claimed to be a registered nurse and a renal specialist. Her alma mater, now defunct, denied giving her an RN and reportedly she has never been a registered nurse in either Wisconsin or Illinois, as she had claimed. One of her daughters filed a protective order against because of alleged abuse.More>>