Big Education Ape: Brooklyn Eagle, Bay Ridge Eagle Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Many Oppose Compromise Plan On Cathie Black

by Mary Frost (mfrost@brooklyneagle.net), published online 11-28-2010


By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle NEW YORK CITY — Opponents held a press conference Sunday to denounce a controversial compromise that state Education Commissioner David Steiner brokered with Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday, which would allow magazine publisher Cathie Black to serve as chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. Under the terms of the deal, a member of Chancellor Joel Klein’s administration and a former principal — Shael Polakow-Suransky — would serve under Ms. Black as senior deputy chancellor, providing expertise in academic areas such as curriculum. The compromise was cut after Commissioner Steiner’s eight-member advisory panel voted against granting a waiver that would allow Ms. Black, Mayor Bloomberg’s hand-picked choice, to assume the post as head of the country’s largest school system. Ms. Black, with no background in education, lacks the necessary credentials for the job. A poll released last Tuesday showed that a majority of New Yorkers