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Monday, November 22, 2010

Cathleen Black’s Reviewers for Schools Job Cause Own Stir - NYTimes.com

Cathleen Black’s Reviewers for Schools Job Cause Own Stir - NYTimes.com

State Didn’t Vet Advisers on Chancellor Pick for Conflicts

As new revelations surfaced about extensive ties between MayorMichael R. Bloomberg and members of the panel evaluating his choice for school’s chancellor, state officials acknowledged on Monday that they did not screen the panel members for conflicts of interest or connections to the Bloomberg administration before appointing them.

Andrew Burton for The New York Times

David Dobosz, a parent of a New York City public school student, signed a petition Monday opposing a waiver for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's choice to be schools chancellor.

The panel has been asked to consider whether Mr. Bloomberg’s selection,Cathleen P. Black, a publishing executive, should be exempted from a state law that requires experience in the education field. The New York Times reported last week that three of the eight panelists previously worked inside the city’s Education Department during Mr. Bloomberg’s tenure.

But a fourth, Louise Mirrer, the head of the New-York Historical Society, has lobbied Mr. Bloomberg’s office on behalf of the museum, and is chairwoman of an academy for which the mayor has helped raise millions of dollars. He has personally donated $475,000 to the historical society