According to the Crist transition site list of leaders of citizen review boards, everyone except those leading the group on education are from Florida or (in a few cases) has strong ties to the state from living here at least a few years. The exceptions? Paul Peterson and Marty West, who head the education group. Peterson was a prime mover in the Hoover Institution’s Reforming Education in Florida (2006). According to West’s vitae, he just graduated from Harvard’s government/social policy doctoral program, with Peterson as his advisor.
Why the exception in education? I can speculate, but this would be a great thing for reporters to go after. I suspect they won’t, because the half-million-dollar donations that the governor-elect is asking for his inauguration are just too juicy, especially with a surprising lack of disclosure about the donors.