A Waiver That Seems Larger Than the Law
By GABE PRESSMAN
Updated 8:00 PM EST, Mon, Nov 29, 2010
It’s getting to be a habit.
Every time the Mayor appoints a new Schools Chancellor, he asks Albany to waive the law -- that is, virtually ignore it -- for the sake of getting us the best person possible.
He got a waiver for Joel Klein, who has run the schools for nine years. And, when his choice to replace Klein, Cathie Black, a publishing executive, didn’t have the qualifications, Mayor Bloomberg and the state education commissioner, David Steiner, engineered a deal. She would appoint a deputy with strong educational credentials and she’d get a waiver too.
It’s as though state law exists just to be flouted. There is an old song that contains the line: "Whatever Lola want, Lola gets." And that