New Schools Chancellor

New York, NY —

Now that he's persuaded Albany to give him control over the schools, Mayor Bloomberg has chosen a new Chancellor to succeed Harold Levy. Yesterday, the mayor named Joel Klein, the former Justice Department prosecutor who led the anti-trust case against Microsoft. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

The selection of Joel Klein was surprising, and not just because the search for a new chancellor was a closely guarded secret. Many education advocates and politicians suspected a businessman-turned-mayor might choose someone from outside the education world. But few expected anyone with Klein's resume.

As head of the Justice Department's anti-trust division, under Bill Clinton, Klein cracked down on price fixing. In addition to going after Microsoft, he blocked the mergers of powerful companies including MCI Worldcom and Sprint. But if Klein seemed like a non-traditional choice for Chancellor, Bloomberg said he had the right experience.

BLOOMBERG: The real issue is can he manage people. He managed 6-700 lawyers, that's probably like herding cats and if he can do that he can probably do this. It's the scholarship, integrity and honesty that impressed me.

Klein also worked in the private sector. After leaving the Justice Department, he went on to run U.S. operations for the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Klein's appointment as Chancellor came just a day after the company forced out his boss, chief executive Thomas Middelhoff.

Bloomberg wouldn't comment on other candidates whose names had surfaced recently. There was speculation that some - including the former head of the Chicago Schools - had turned down the job. Speaking to reporters at the Tweed Courthouse, which will soon be home to the Education Department, the 55 year old Klein seemed awed by the huge responsibility awaiting him.

KLEIN: I am a product of these schools and I love what my public education did for me. And for me the opportunity to work in this endeavor is really the most exciting opportunity.

Klein grew up in Brooklyn and Queens and says his love for education led to a brief teaching stint in the city schools, in 1969, before he finished his law degree at Harvard. But if he's not a professional educator, one former colleague says he proved his leadership at the Justice Department. Douglas Melamed, who worked with Klein on the Microsoft case, says he wasn't afraid to act under opposing pressure from consumer advocates and the computer industry.

MELAMED: I mean timid government officials would have said gee we've got to do more work, more preparation we've got to ask more questions. And Joel realized it was important to move quickly and decisively And of course he was totally vindicated by the courts.

But the city schools are a long way from the Justice Department. The school system has 1.1 million pupils - and more than half of its elementary students are not meeting state standards. Some education advocates wanted Bloomberg to choose an educator. The outgoing Chancellor, Harold Levy, was a corporate lawyer. Nonetheless, Klein's appointment was greeted with cautious optimism. Ernest Clayton is president of the city's United Parents Associations.

CLAYTON: I gotta tell you, educators are lousy. They don't know anything about running a corporate system. I almost dare not say, but you almost need someone with good management skills. With that said we need a good educator also in place.

As school districts around the country from Chicago to Seattle increasingly turn to business leaders, some are appointing what's known as the CAO. The Chief Academic Officer. Teachers Union president Randy Weingarten encouraged Klein to do something similar here in New York.

WEINGARTEN. He needs people who can help give him the best educational information not just on policy but on practice, about what works. But he also needs people he's confident with and can show the public they can work together as a team instead of doing what last board of education did, which was everybody trying to kill each other.

Klein says he'll appoint a team of people with experience in policy and management. Because he's not an educator, he needs approval from the state education department - just like Levy. With a new board controlled by the mayor, he's sure to get more political support than his predecessors. But Klein also faces the same obstacles that have dogged 4 chancellors in 10 years. Scarce resources, a vast bureaucracy, and a public anxious for change. For WNYC, I'm Beth Fertig.