Broad coalition forming in New York to oppose Bloomberg's appointment of Cathie Black as Chancellor of New York public schools
Less than one week after the surprise announcement by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that he was appointing Hearst Publishing CEO Cathie Black as the next Chancellor of the 1.1 million student New York City public schools system, a broad coalition is forming in New York City and parts of New York State to oppose the confirmation of the Black appointment. Under New York law, the State of New York must grant a waiver for Black to take over the largest public school system in the USA. By the first weekend after Bloomberg announced the appointment, forces were gathering political strength to demand that the state reject the billionaire mayor's request for the waiver.
Cathie Black (CEO of Hearst Corporation) flanked by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (above left) and outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein (above right) at a November 12 media event at which Bloomberg announced that he was appointing Black to succeed Klein, who is leaving after eight years in charge of the New York City schools to go to work for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.A dramatic You Tube video of a recent New York City press conference is available for viewers to hear from a wide range of New Yorkers who are opposing both the Black appointment and in many cases the mayor control model. It is available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXLLWiAfJ8c
At the same time that he appointed Black to head the school system, Michael Bloomberg announced that he was accepting the resignation of Black's soon-to-be predecessor, Joel Klein. Klein, a lawyer, had run the system for eight years following Bloomberg's assumption of mayoral control. Klein, like Black, had no experience in education, but was touted as the kind of manager that New York's public schools need.
Klein will reportedly go to work at a large salary as an executive at Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
