Cathie Black Transition Blues
by David C. Bloomfield
There was no need for the high drama associated with Joel Klein’s resignation as New York City schools Chancellor. Every district in the country regularly faces these departures, yet it is rare for superintendents to quit or be fired mid-year, and usually when they do it is for critical health or ethical reasons. Six months notice is a minimum to allow for a methodical search and continuity through June. That neither the Mayor nor Chancellor foresaw this disruption demonstrates their misunderstanding of how schools really work.
Then there is the matter of the Mayor’s clandestine process for selecting Klein’s successor. Not only did he violate the spirit and perhaps the letter of Equal Employment Opportunity procedures, there was no public opportunity to meet the candidate, again standard fare in districts throughout the country. The usual first, softball question asked in any of these forums is about educational vision. Ms. Black has said she has none, an
