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Chancellor Joel Klein is making good on his word that, regardless of mayoral control’s expiration, he would continue to appoint superintendents.

The Department of Education has named three new interim acting superintendents to fill vacancies, according to the city’s chief schools officer, Eric Nadelstern. Why “interim acting”?

“Right now everything’s up in the air,” Nadelstern said. “Until the governance matters are resolved,” he said, the DOE is erring on the side of caution.

There are legal ambiguities surrounding the chancellor’s ability to appoint superintendents. With the reversion to pre-2002 education law, the chancellor can select superintendents, but they can only make contracts with community school boards. Klein has not revived these boards, leading some to question whether existing and incoming superintendents have the legal authority do their jobs.

The new hires will replace the outgoing superintendents in districts 8, 15, and 21. (more…)

It may be a new day and a new system, but at Tweed the plan for handling mayoral control’s expiration is to act as though it never happened.

When Department of Education officials began considering what the system would look like if mayoral control expired, they envisioned anarchy. (At least when talking to the press.) An internal memo released to reporters described a complete breakdown of the power structure, such that no one would have the legal authority to hire or fire teachers.

That concern appears to have been cast aside. In the days following the law’s expiration, the DOE has tried to make as few changes as possible to the school governance system.

The issue at the heart of the confusion is the legal status of community superintendents. (more…)