Mayor Bloomberg's selection of veteran publishing executive Cathie Black to succeed Joel Klein as New York City's schools chancellor has at least temporarily collided with a state law requiring that school-system heads possess a "superintendent's certificate."
State Education Commissioner David Steiner has the authority to waive that requirement -- as his predecessor did for Klein eight years ago -- if he deems the candidate "exceptionally qualified" on the basis of experience, training, etc. On Friday, as his predecessors have typically done in similar situations, Steiner named an eight-member panel to review Black's qualifications and advise him regarding Bloomberg's waiver request.
