New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner Announces Resignation

ALBANY - The man who issued the controversial waiver allowing Cathie Black to serve as city schools chancellor is resigning his post.



State Education Commissioner David Steiner announced yesterday that he will leave by August, but he denied there was any connection to Black's departure.


"It's just a bizarre coincidence," he said in an interview.


Steiner gave Black the go-ahead last December so the non-educator could become chancellor, a controversial move that angered education advocates and even some of his allies.


Steiner said was proud to have put in place a "terrific road map," which included a raft of reforms, and would now return to academia and possibly a national policy position outside of government.


"I hope to contribute to the national discussion in education," said the former dean of the CUNY's Hunter College School of Education. "I hope to continue to be deeply involved in moving it forward, and to be able to write about it and speak about it."


This time, however, he will be armed with the experience of the harsh political realities of places like Albany.


"Democracy is difficult and it should be...Reform is not a two-minute drill," Steiner said. "Others have the skills to take up what is chapter two, which is more of an implementation phase."


Despite his denials, some education insiders say Steiner is likely taking the fall for Black's disastrous and aborted term as chancellor.


"Bloomberg's decision to pick her was inexplicable, but Steiner to me was irresponsible in giving that waiver," one former longtime education official said. "It's his job to protect against hastily made political decisions."


Senior Deputy Commissioner John King is considered his likely replacement. "He's a superstar," said one education department insider.


Steiner was hired by the Board of Regents in July 2009 and was well regarded for his efforts to improve teacher preparation and quality.


His tenure coincided with one of the state's worst-ever economic crises, which led to school aid cuts the past two years. He also entered the fray of a heated debate on education reform and tackled issues such as transforming the way teachers are trained, creating a new teacher evaluation system, and re-vamping statewide assessments that were producing wildly high pass rates and were found to be too easy.


He and his team are credited with brokering deals between various stakeholders, which allowed New York to win $700 million in federal Race to the Top competition.