Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Queens Teacher: "I Will Be the Next Chancellor" - Cathie Black

Queens Teacher: "I Will Be the Next Chancellor" - Cathie Black

"I Will Be the Next Chancellor" - Cathie Black

New Public Schools Chancellor Cathie Black fends off critics, says she has the experience
BY Meredith Kolodner


Bloomberg's choice for schools chancellor brushed off her growing chorus of critics Tuesday and defended her qualifications for the job.

"The mayor's been very clear that he really wanted a strong, effective manager, and I have almost 40 years of experience at that," Cathie Black told New York 1 after meeting with high-ranking Education Department officials.

She also said efforts to block her appointment would be unsuccessful.

"I will be the next chancellor," she said.

Still, parents angry about Black's surprise appointment made their voices heard at last night's education policy board meeting.

Bloomberg's Black Eye

Bloomberg’s Black Eye
The mayor picks another noneducator to run the city’s schools.
Sol Stern

As the news circulated around New York City last week that Joel Klein was resigning as schools chancellor and would be replaced by Hearst Magazines executive Cathleen Black, I was deluged with e-mails from friends and colleagues. All expressed surprise at Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pick of the unknown Black: “Cathie who?” “Is Bloomberg serious?” The public reaction was best summarized by a New York Daily News front-page headline the morning after Bloomberg’s announcement: the single word HUH? in large type, followed by a subhead alluding to Black’s lack of education experience. By the end of the week, even New York Times reporters were poking fun at Bloomberg’s claim that his selection of Black was the result of a careful search for the best available candidate.

In truth, there’s no reason for anyone to be surprised by anything the mayor does on education policy, certainly not those influential New Yorkers who pressed the state legislature last year to reauthorize mayoral control of the schools entirely on Bloomberg’s terms. Backed by his allies in the media and business communities, Bloomberg laid down a take-it-or-leave-it challenge to the Albany legislators. It went something like this: With my superior understanding of business management, I am indispensable to continued progress in the schools. So forget about those outdated principles of checks and balances. They may apply to the national government, but I