Metro

State grants Cathie Black waiver to become schools chancellor

They’re betting on Black.

State officials granted publishing executive Cathie Black a waiver this afternoon that will allow her to become the next city schools chancellor.

The approval — which Black needed because she lacks the education credentials required of a superintendent — caps a tumultuous three weeks of battles over whether success as a business manager was enough preparation to lead the largest schools system in the nation.

READ THE WAIVER DECISION (PDF)

State Education Commissioner David Steiner determined that it was — particularly because Black will have the city’s first chief academic officer, longtime educator Shael Polakow-Suransky, advising and reporting directly to her.

In his 12-page letter approving the waiver, Steiner acknowledged Black’s lack of an educational background, but he said her management and financial expertise at the helm of Hearst Magazines were skills that are essential for the city’s schools chief.

“During her distinguished professional career, Ms. Black has demonstrated a skill crticial to the Chancellorsip, namely the ability to lead a large multi-faceted organization confronting enormous challenges and complexities,” he wrote. “Her many successes could not have been achieved without an exceptional ability to identify and solve complex problems, and skill in evaluating and managing conflicting and competing viewpoints.”