Friday, November 12, 2010

Cathie Black And Sex Ed?

Yes, YES, YES... I KNOW there are more important things to think about when it comes to the choice of new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black to replace Joel Klein...

For example, there's the fact that she still needs a waiver from the state Education Commissioner to even take the job. There's the fact that she has no background in running a school system, and there's the fact that the Bloomberg administration conducted the/a search for Klein's replacement under the heaviest secrecy.

cathie black sex ed.jpg

But NY1 has a bit of a light-hearted story about Black today that does, in a way, underscore just what a different world Black's going to have to transition into from high-powered magazine exec to manager of a massive school system that serves more than one million kids.

The station pulled up an interview Black did with National Public Radio back in August, where she discussed "discussed plans to make money through an iPad application that charged for sex tips."

Radio host: Cathie, I have to ask, are you going to charge for that sex tip of the day? I mean people seem to pay for this.

Cathie Black: Yeah, $2.99. Yeah, $2.99. Cheaper than a hooker. I didn't say that, did I?"

Seems like an offhanded comment. Maybe Black has a sense of humor - something that could be useful in dealing with the dire situation in our public schools. But no matter what, with the mix of panning and praising the new chancellor's gotten since Wednesday's announcement, one thing's sure: This is about the last thing Black, Bloomberg or the DOE needs right now.

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