Rhee’s been in Black’s shoes.
Former Washington, DC schools chief Michelle Rhee said her appointment to the post three years ago was met with nearly identical opposition to that being faced by incoming New York City Schools Chancellor Cathie Black.
“People were [effectively] rioting in the street, saying, ‘How can somebody who’s never run a school, who’s never run a school district, do this job?” Rhee told The Post at a Manhattan Institute event in Midtown yesterday.
“And I think what I showed is that you don’t necessarily have to have been a superintendent before,” added Rhee, who launched the Students First advocacy group earlier this month.
“She’s shown in her experience in business that she can run a multibillion-dollar organization, that she can turn something around, so I don’t think her lack of experience in education disqualifies her.”
Three lawsuits are pending against Black’s appointment that question the legality of her state-issued waiver from required education credentials.
They’re expected to be heard together Dec. 23 in Albany County state Supreme Court — 11 days before Black is set to officially take the helm of the public schools system.