AP: U.S. Education Secretary Paige to Leave Post

WASHINGTON -- Rod Paige, who rose from racial segregation to become the nation's first black education secretary, intends to leave his Cabinet position, an administration official told The Associated Press Friday.

"The secretary has been looking at leaving, and he's been in discussion with the White House about the right time to do so," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A Texan like Bush, Paige, 71, came to prominence as an award-winning superintendent in Houston before becoming secretary in a time of huge change in federal education policy. An outspoken defender of demanding more from schools, he has been the public face behind No Child Left Behind, the law at the center of Bush's domestic agenda.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan declined to speculate about the Cabinet position.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-paige111204_wr,0,3054853.story?coll=la-home-headlines