Recollections: Almost Chancellor
Remembering the man who was -- almost -- Chancellor of the New York City public school system, and -- with apologies for the self-indulgence -- my brief and deeply unproductive foray into working at the old Board of Education.
A small but vocal group is trying block the proposed appointment of media executive Cathie Black as head of the New York City school system, most immediately by convincing a group appointed by the state education commissioner to deny Black the legal waiver she needs in order to make up for her lack of formal training in education. It's a post-“Waiting For Superman,” pre-holiday referendum on Mayor Bloomberg's influence and the current state of education reform all wrapped into one.
As of this moment, nobody knows for sure whether Black will make it through this last hurdle, or how she'll do on the job. But if she ends up not getting the job it won’t be the first time. You’ve probably already heard about the state’s refused to give Robert F. Wagner a waiver after Mayor Koch nominated him in 1983. But there's another example that's worth remembering: a local guy named Dan Domenech got- and lost - the job in a 24 hour period in late September 1995. The day Domenech was supposed to become NYC schools chancellor I was there in the building, a special assistant to