GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Chancellor Joel Klein. (GothamSchools via our Creative Commons Flickr)

A string of departures by top school officials is fueling speculation that Chancellor Joel Klein could be the next to go. But in an interview today, Klein laughed off the possibility. He said the departures — four since January — are actually evidence that his prescription for changing urban schools is catching on.

The latest official to leave is Garth Harries, the management guru who is in the middle of restructuring the city’s special education offerings. Harries announced today that he has accepted a job at the New Haven school system starting in July.

A teachers union vice president, Carmen Alvarez, said the exodus signals that even bigger changes could be brewing at the top. ”Read the tea leaves,” she said in an interview today. “People don’t leave like that unless there’s another change in the air.”

Some have speculated that Klein’s departure could be part of a deal that preserves the mayor’s control of the city schools: The head of the unpopular-amongst-elected-officials schools chancellor in exchange for continued power for the mayor. (more…)