Poll: Most NYers say schools chancellor lacks experience

An advisory panel appointed to weigh the qualifications of Hearst Magazines Chairwoman Cathie Black to head New York City schools recommended on Tuesday denying a waiver that would allow the noneducator to serve as chancellor of the country’s largest school system.

State Education commissioner David Steiner is not required to follow the panel’s advice in deciding whether to grant the waiver, nor is he required to consider public opinion.

“I will weigh their advice and insight as I consider the decision before me,” Steiner said in a statement.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg selected Black for the post. A poll released Tuesday shows she is not a popular choice.

During the closed meeting, the panel members had three options on whether to recommend a waiver: yes, no, and “send the waiver request back to the New York City mayor for possible resubmission,” said spokesman Tom Dunn.

Four members voted “no,” two “yes,” and two members urged resubmission, Dunn said.

The Quinnipiac University Poll released Tuesday shows New Yorkers believe by a 2-1 margin that Black is not qualified for the job. The poll found that 51 percent of New York City voters believe Black does not have the right experience to serve as schools chancellor. Just 26 percent said Black does have the experience for the job, and 23 percent were undecided.

Asked specifically about Black’s appointment, 47 percent said they disapproved and 29 percent approved. Twenty-five percent were undecided.

“If it was a public vote, thumbs down,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

But foes and supporters of Black’s appointment have been lobbying him since Bloomberg announced on Nov. 8 that he had chosen the 66-year-old Black to succeed Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who is leaving to take a job with News Corp.

The city Department of Education released a letter to Steiner on Tuesday, backing Black’s appointment and signed by 28 high-profile women including Whoopi Goldberg and Gloria Steinem, with whom Black worked at Ms. magazine in the 1970s.

“We are delighted that the largest public school system in the country will, for the first time, be headed by a woman — and in Cathie Black we have an extraordinarily qualified and visionary leader,” the prominent women said. “We urge you to grant the necessary waiver for this historic appointment.”

Last week, former mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani sent Steiner a letter in support of Black.

Thousands of New Yorkers have signed online petitions opposing the waiver for Black, and some City Council members and state legislators have urged Steiner not to grant the waiver.

Bloomberg has said that Black is the right person to raise achievement levels for New York’s 1.1 million public school students because of her track record as a top media executive.

But the Quinnipiac poll found that New Yorkers are skeptical, with 64 percent saying that a schools chancellor needs education experience more than management experience.

The survey of 1,287 New York City registered voters was conducted Nov. 16-21. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

A Bloomberg spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the poll.