Stop Waiting for a Savior

Timothy Hacsi:

DID Cathleen P. Black, the former publishing executive who was removed last week after just three months as New York City's schools chancellor, fail because she lacked a background in education?

In this respect, she has had quite a bit of company over the decades. In 1996, Washington hired a former three-star Army general, Julius W. Becton Jr., to take over its low-performing schools; he left, exhausted, after less than two years. For most of the last decade, the Los Angeles Unified School District was run by non-educators: a former governor of Colorado, Roy Romer, and then a retired vice admiral, David L. Brewer III. They got mixed reviews. Raj Manhas, who had a background in banking and utilities, ran Seattle's schools from 2003 to 2007, balancing the budget but facing fierce opposition over his plans to close schools.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 13, 2011 4:40 AM
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