General Discussion

Smarmie Doofus

(14,498 posts) Fri May 3, 2013, 09:27 PM May 2013

I'm glad corporate school "reformers" take American public education so seriously.

In 2010, corporate "reform's" favorite mayor, NYC's Bloomberg, brought a Park Ave pal named Cathie Black ( zero professional experience;non-native New Yorker, two school aged kids tucked away in posh boarding school in Ct.) to serve as NYC schools chancellor, to replace one Joel Klein, who had just passed thru the revolving door to clean up w. schools contractor and human shit-slinger, Rupert Murdoch Inc. ( HEY: THIS IS A DEMOCRATIC SITE: IF BELLS AND SIRENS AREN'T GOING OFF IN YOUR HEAD BY NOW, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER THAT MAYBE YOU'RE IN THE WRONG PLACE.)

Long story short, the reform "braintrust" huddled over how to "sell" this preposterous nomination to the general public and by so doing to the state ed commissioner, who had to grant a state waiver as Ms. Black had no legal clearance to even be left alone in a room w. children at that point, much less running a school system of 1.1 million children. So these penetrating intellects, these corporate geniuses plotted, and schemed furiously over how to get that *%^^%$#$###!!! waiver. The ensuing are some hilites of the heretofore hidden-away plotting and scheming. They come in the form of emails sent by Cathie Black herself. A reporter FOIA-ed them and the Bloomberg admin fought release furiously in the courts for two+ years. Alas... there is still a CHANCE at justice in these courts of ours: he lost.

No big whoop to Bloomberg and Co. : the suit was defended by city lawyers on the taxpayer dime... *my* dime....and I'm guessing the legal talent was more than happy to get the work ( and the cash.)

It's public info now.....so read away. You'll laugh; you'll cry. If you care about kids, you'll puke.

>>>>As a groundswell of criticism threatened to capsize her appointment as New York City’s schools chancellor, Cathleen P. Black, a publishing executive with no background in education policy, was increasingly focused on one question: What would Oprah say?
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Eager for Oprah Winfrey to offer a testimonial on her behalf, Ms. Black dispatched a deputy mayor to broker an endorsement through Gayle King, a mutual friend. Later, Ms. Black went as far as to suggest talking points for the television star to keep in mind when describing the would-be chancellor.

“Tremendous leadership, excellent manager, innovator, mother of two and cares about the future of all children,” Ms. Black wrote in an e-mail to Ms. Winfrey on Nov. 17, 2010. “Grace under pressure.” She ended the message: “I owe you big time.”

The exchange was revealed on Thursday after the Bloomberg administration lost a legal battle to withhold a series of e-mail exchanges between Ms. Black and city officials, which the city had fought for two years to keep private.

The messages, written in the days before and after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Ms. Black, capture the anxious efforts within the Bloomberg administration to quell the poor public reception to her selection, as education experts and lawmakers alike questioned her readiness for the job.

Even as City Hall aides arranged for Ms. Black to introduce herself to leading public officials, she appeared focused on securing endorsements from celebrities and socialites.

At one point, Ms. Black suggested that the daughter of Donald Trump could offer kind words: “Would we want Ivanka Trump? Think she would do,” she wrote.

The terse reply suggested that Mr. Bloomberg’s team was unimpressed. “I would skip,” wrote Micah Lasher, the mayor’s legislative director at the time.

Requests for comment sent to Ms. Black and Ms. Winfrey were not answered on Thursday evening.

The Bloomberg administration hoped the endorsements could help persuade the state education commissioner to grant Ms. Black a waiver to become chancellor, which she needed because of her lack of education credentials. Ms. Black eventually received the waiver, and the job. But she resigned just 95 days into her tenure, after Mr. Bloomberg concluded that the situation could not be salvaged.>>> more at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/nyregion/e-mails-show-rush-to-quell-furor-over-cathleen-black.html?ref=oprahwinfrey