It’s a double departure.
On the same day the city’s top education official was shown the door, state Education Commissioner David Steiner announced he would leave his post.
The accomplished former dean of Hunter College’s School of Education was almost universally hailed for his academic chops, but some speculated that the punishing politics of the job hastened his exit.
“He was put in an almost impossible position with all the pressure City Hall put on him to grant the waiver to Cathie Black,” said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn).
Sources close to the commissioner insist his tenure was meant to be brief but busy — helping guide state reforms under the federal Race to the Top competition but then leaving the implementation to a successor.
“David Steiner has been a terrific leader as New York’s education commissioner and is a true visionary who has helped lead the state in implementing critical reforms,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
Steiner, appointed in July 2009, is expected to stay through the end of the school year.
Senior deputy John King is viewed by many as a shoo-in to replace him.