Cathie Black Steps Down as Schools Chancellor

UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, said he believed Cathie Black's resignation this morning was a necessity. 

"Cathie Black's tenure as chancellor was doomed from the very beginning," said Avella, who had previously criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to appoint Black. "While there is no doubt that she is a qualified business professional, she was totally unqualified to lead the largest school system in the country."

City schools chancellor Cathie Black is stepping down just three months after her appointment, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a press conference this morning.

 Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, who was the former Board of Education president, will take over as the city’s top education official.

“Leading our school system is an incredibly difficult job and I think she has done an admirable job and worked tirelessly to know the ins and outs of the system,” Bloomberg said of Black. “She loves New York and wants to do what’s right for its families and children. We have mutually agreed that she should step down as chancellor. This has not worked out as either of us had expected.”

The mayor appointed Black late last year amid criticism that she lacked experience in education. Black, who replaced Joel Klein in January, had previously been the chairwoman for Hearst Magazines and a publisher for USA Today.

The mayor had been required to receive a waiver for Black from State Education Commissioner David Steiner because she did not have an education background.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed that Black’s approval rating had fallen to 17 percent this month.

Bloomberg said he believed Walcott would be an ideal choice for schools chancellor.

“There’s nobody who knows the challenges we’re facing today better than Dennis,” the mayor said. “He has devoted his life to working on educational and youth services issues. I think there’s no person better qualified to step in as chancellor at this point.”

Walcott, who is from Cambria Heights, is a former kindergarten teacher who served on the city’s Board of Education.

“I’ve visited hundreds and hundreds of our schools and walked their corridors,” Walcott said during the mayor’s press conference. “To me, the great equalizer in society is ensuring that every child receives a quality education, especially a quality public education.”

Rob Caloras, president of District 26’s Community Education Council, said he believed Walcott had better credentials than Black or Klein, but that he was still skeptical.

“He has good roots,” he said. “They are better than Klein’s or Black’s. His children went to public schools. But I fear his roots have been severed. He’s been drinking the corporate reform Kool Aid for too long.”