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Deputy Schools Chancellor Joining Mayor’s Campaign

Ohanian Comment:Just to keep in perspective what education "reform" means to these fellows--and to the media, Christopher Cerf, former President of Edison, the commercial outfit that has stirred up bitter controversy in 25 states, was hired in 2006 by Chancellor Klein, former Counsel to Bertelsmann, a transnational media corporation, and United States Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Education reform, anyone?

Christoper Cerf reveals that he's a fellow who has no regrets and never even says he's sorry--not even when he's caught violating ethics statutes.

This reporter describes Cerf as "a widely admired figure in the education world." In whose education world? Of course Cerf is involved in the Sharpton/Gingrich scam.

Not my education world.

Christopher Cerf, was in charge of the project to measure teachers by student test scores.

Oh, and don't forget: Christopher Cerf graduated from the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy in 2004.

NOTE: It's the otherChristopher Cerf, the composer of "Put Down the Duckie" for Sesame Street, who has been hired to write a "Blast Away Phuzzy Phonics" theme song for the Broad/Microsoft/Pentagon/McGraw-Hill kindergarten war games product.

For some more fun, read Gary Babad's Bloomberg Sworn In As President A Look Ahead.

By Michael Barbaro

In the strongest sign yet that education reform will be the cornerstone of his re-election bid, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's campaign has recruited an influential deputy chancellor for New York City’s schools to serve as a senior policy adviser, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.

Christopher Cerf, the cit'’s No. 2 education administrator, will resign from his government post and move to the campaign later this week.

Mr. Bloomberg, who took control of the city's public schools from the Board of Education in 2002, has pointed to rising test scores and graduation rates as proof that mayoral control works — and that he deserves a third term.

At the same time, his campaign has attacked the education record of Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., a former president of the Board of Education and the Democratic nominee for mayor, who says Mr. Bloomberg has overemphasized standardized testing and squeezed parents out of the system.

On the campaign, Mr. Cerf will help organize public school parents, especially charter school parents; promote the mayor’s record on education; and advise the campaign on a variety of policies until Election Day, Nov. 3.

"What has happened to schools under Mike Bloomberg is one of a kind," Mr. Cerf said in an interview. "It really is a national model for reform."

He is unlikely to return to the Education Department after the campaign, said two people briefed on the matter. The department will fill his job temporarily.

He will be the second high-ranking City Hall employee to move from the mayor’s office to the campaign. Patricia E. Harris, the city’s first deputy mayor, has told colleagues that she will join the campaign in the coming days.

The campaign has refused to disclose their pay until it is required to do so by campaign finance rules. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire, is known to give senior political aides eye-popping bonuses ranging from $25,000 to $350,000.

Mr. Cerf, the former president of Edison Schools Inc., now called EdisonLearning, one of the world's largest operators of public schools for profit, is a longtime friend of Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. Both worked as lawyers in the White House during the Clinton administration.

At the city's Department of Education, he had the title of deputy chancellor for strategy and innovation and was Mr. Klein's political maestro, working with parents, unions and elected officials, especially during the contentious renewal of mayoral control in the State Legislature. In a statement, Mr. Klein called Mr. Cerf an "extraordinary leader."

Mr. Cerf, a widely admired figure in the education world, had a brief dust-up with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. In 2007, he solicited charitable contributions from executives at Edison while the company did business with the city, running afoul of city ethics guidelines.

However, the city took no action against Mr. Cerf, who said in an interview last December that he had properly disclosed his fund-raising and did not regret his actions. "Raising money for a not-for-profit — tell me, what's wrong with that?" he said.

— Michael Barbaro
New York Times
2009-09-16
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/nyregion/16cerf.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

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