Cathie Black: NYC's New Chancellor of Public Schools

"All I know is that I see blood in the water," quipped one Bed-Stuy resident, as she boarded the B-38 bus to work this morning. She was asked what she felt about the recent appointment of Cathie Black as New York's new school chancellor.

She didn't have much to say, but what she did say echoed the anger and frustration of many parents in Bed-Stuy: Mayor Bloomberg finally got his way.

State Education Commissioner David Steiner granted Cathleen Black the waiver she needed to become the chancellor of the New York City school system on Monday.

And in Bed-Stuy, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who is happy about that decision. For the past three weeks, since Bloomberg first tapped her for the job, Black, 66, has caused intense ire among education administrators and parents alike for what they note is a blatant lack of experience.

But for Bloomberg, experience is negotiable, especially considering that he was a business mogul-turned-government manager himself. He has proven with past appointments that what you can do matters more than where you've done it. And obviously, he feels Black has and can do a lot.

Black is the former chairwoman of Hearst Magazines and the first woman to serve as the company's chief executive. In that role she was successful. By all accounts, she was a visionary at Hearst, known for a managerial style that was keen on accountability, while also supportive of her staff.

In the 1980s, she was publisher of USA Today -- the country's first national daily – often credited by those who worked with her for the publication's survival and success. And before that, she was the first female publisher of New York Magazine.

But New York City educators say, who cares?

"What's absolutely absurd is that she does not even have a master's degree, which is a minimum requirement for teachers in New York City," balked one high school principal who lives in Bed-Stuy. He chose to speak on the condition of anonymity, because he is not allowed to speak to the press.

"These teachers are working hard for very little money. Yet, she will get paid ten times as much to be their boss, our boss, and has none of our experience?"

Parents are complaining too. They say it is corporate cronyism at its worst. And why hire someone who has so little experience, that she will have to hire someone else with experience to help her on the job?

"This is a business transaction, that's my opinion of it," said Bea Allert, a parent whose child attends P.S. 256 on Kosciuszko Street. "If she's not qualified, how can she run this whole school system? Because otherwise, she's gonna need outside help.

"Basically someone has to watch over her as she does this job and teach her how to do it. So why not just hire someone who's qualified, so that she doesn't need so much babysitting?"

Another parent sympathized somewhat with Bloomberg's decision, but still disagreed with his final choice of Black.

"The fact that she doesn't have experience as an educator, the fact that her children attend private school, that bothered me," said Harry Djanite, 42, a Bed-Stuy resident whose daughter attends P.S. 146.

"I felt like, wow, because at least if her children went to public school, she'd have a perspective on how the system really works. I would have preferred to have someone in that position that has a strong background in education."

Another parent, Sergio Vazquez, said simply, "She's not qualified. She doesn't have a background in education. I think it will be a disaster.

"It's like bringing a rookie into the major leagues," said Vazquez, who has two children at P.S. 256. "You got to give them time in the minor leagues to develop and hone their skills. I'm almost 90 percent sure that there are other candidates that are higher qualified."

But not everyone thinks Black's appointment is a poor choice. One parent --  who asked to be called "just an anonymous black man"-- was dropping his daughter off at school.

"These kids don't know nothing. They are not growing. These kids are walking around with their pants down," he said. "We need a new formula, if not, kids are gonna lose. If you hire somebody in your company, and they make your profits go up, wouldn't you want to hire them?

"Bloomberg said, 'You know what? Let's change this whole system around, because we're going to be digital now,'" he said. "She's gonna change the game. Everything is digital now. We can't keep living in an analog world."

"Love him or hate him, he's a business man," Djanite added. "On one level, I can see what he's talking about, because he said she knows how to manage money, and the system is corrupt right now. But I'm not really happy with the decision personally.

"The fact that she ran a bunch of publications doesn't impress me that much. I hear [Bloomberg's] reasoning. But, does that sway my opinion? No, not really."