Daley Appoints Interim Schools Boss
CHICAGO (CBS) - In what will be one of his last appointments at City Hall, Mayor Richard M. Daley has named Terry Mazany, head of the Chicago Community Trust, as the interim CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.
Daley said Tuesday that Mazany will replace CPS Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman, who announced his resignation earlier this month. His last day is Nov. 29. Mazany will serve on an interim basis until Daley's successor is elected early next year and picks his or her own choice to head the public schools.
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"I do not have an interest in pursuing this job on a permanent basis," Mazany said at a City Hall press conference, adding that he will return to his duties at the Chicago Community Trust when a permanent CPS boss is picked.
Mazany's appointment must be approved by the Chicago Board of Education.
He said he will essentially serve for CPS "on loan" from the trust and will take a city salary of only one dollar, while he will continue to draw a salary from the trust.
Mazany has been president and CEO of the trust since 2004 and, before that, has worked at school districts in Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland and San Francisco.
Daley said he has asked Mazany to focus on a number of issues during his short tenure, including finding a new chief education officer who is responsible for the district's education policy.
He also wants Mazany to continue the district's efforts to get parents more directly involved in their children's education.
"That is absolutely essential," Mazany said. "If the schools are asked to do it alone, they can't do it. It's a partnership."
The Chicago Teachers Union and others have called on Daley to appoint an educator, rather than an administrator, to run CPS.
But Daley said the CEO of the public schools needs to be an administrator, noting that when he took control of CPS in 1995, the management of the district was divided between a CEO for operations and a "chief education officer" to oversee education policy.
"This system is a much better system," Daley said.
Mazany agreed, saying that the CEO position "requires a special level of business and strategic leadership" to oversee day-to-day operations and the district's budget.
Before taking the top post at the Community Trust, Mazany also worked as director and senior program officer for the Education Initiative at the organization, where he put together a $50 million, five-year plan to help improve the Chicago Public Schools.
Mazany's first career was as an archaeologist and dendrochronologist, in which he used tree-ring chronologies to date human settlements and learn about past climates.
CBS 2 Web Producer Todd Feurer contributed to this report.
