According to the Washington Post, private donors have the right to reconsider grant pledges when conditions change at recipient institutions. Donors in the D.C. area may soon exercise this right and pull funding promised to the community school district if Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee leaves her post.

Rhee could lose her job if Mayor Adrian M. Fenty loses an upcoming election, reports the source. Fenty's opponent, D.C. Council chairman Vincent Gray, is trying to persuade donors that Rhee's presence and school reform are "not inextricably tied."

Yet foundation leaders seem to think Rhee is the person needed to institute the changes they put money toward. Should they pull their funds, the district would be short $21 million that has already been earmarked to pay teachers' salaries, reports the Post.

D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi told the source the foundation's stipulations are problematic. "The government has to be assured that the money it is getting is without condition. We cannot spend money that we are not certain of," he said.

In the event that the grants are rescinded, D.C.-based organization leaders may consider allocating some of their nonprofit fundraising dollars to the school system to prevent an education crisis in the area.