Rudy To Rudy: It’s The Board Of End

A rocky month of scandal and mounting tension within the Board of Education has lead to the end of Rudy Crew’s tenure as the chancellor of the public school system. And providing the swing vote, at an emergency board meeting last week, was Queens board member Terri Thomson.
The board voted 4 to 3 last Thursday not to renew Crew’s contract, which expires in June of 2000. Votes in favor of Crew came from William C. Thompson of Brooklyn, Dr. Sandra E. Lerner of Bronx, and Irving Hammer of Manhattan, while votes against renewal of the contract came from mayoral appointees Ninfa Segarra and Irene Impellizzeri, Staten Island’s Jerry Cammarata, and from Thomson.
The board met again on Tuesday to discuss a buyout package for the remainder of Crew’s contract. Thomson told The Queens Courier that in fact it was Crew who suggested the buyout, and not the Board of Education. And although the board was unable to hammer out the final details, Thomson believed the negotiations could be settled amicably within weeks.
Also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting was the appointment of an interim chancellor, and despite the fact that no obvious candidate has emerged, many high-profile names have been tossed around, including Herman Badillo, Giuliani’s educational advisor, as well as businessman Robert Kiley, head of the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce. And although Mayor Giuliani has been pushing for a full-time replacement within 30 days, Thomson said that the role should be filled, at least temporarily, by Wednesday.
Rather than hire an independent search committee to find a permanent replacement, as Thomson had suggested, the board voted on Tuesday that they would manage the search. "I feel that this is a very political time in New York," said the Queens member. "Every candidate will be looked from a political standpoint. I thought the process could be insulated, but I was alone out there (in the meeting)."
Thomson’s controversial vote not to renew the chancellor’s contract marks the second time this year that she has joined forces with the mayor’s allies in a vote against Crew. Earlier this spring Thomson provided the swing vote that defeated Crew’s school construction plan.
Although recent reports indicated that Thomson was under pressure from Giuliani and Queens Borough President Claire Shulman to vote against renewing Crew’s contract, Thomson told the Courier that her decision "was made over a long period of time and was made with great soul searching. Whenever I have a decision to make, I stay focused on it and don’t let public perception or the press get in the way."
Thomson said she was also disappointed that Crew would not make a firm commitment whether to serve another term as chancellor. "I think a meaningful discussion would have made more sense. All his actions and non-communications told me that he didn’t want to be here."
Thomson also said that the chancellor failed to take responsibility for the school system’s shortcomings. "Instead of attacking the problems, he would say ‘attack the messenger,’" she said. "We can’t improve the educational system unless we recognize the flaws and move on."
The city school system has been plagued with a number of scandals, involving everything from having to hold classes in bathrooms due to overcrowding, to spoiled food served for lunch. Early this month 52 city school teachers, principals, and school officials were charged with helping students cheat on standardized reading and math tests. Three Queens teachers, implicated by Special Investigator Ed Stancik, were re-assigned to desk jobs while the investigation continued.
Later that same week, the Board of Ed suffered through yet another embarrassing revelation. Allegations arose that school officials inflated attendance records to get more state aid.
Crew may have sealed his fate the following week when he described a Staten Island councilman who had criticized the chancellor’s policies, as "too short."
"In light of all the facts, I believe the Board made the right decision," Giuliani said in a statement. "I’ll work with them to select a new chancellor who will work to reform the system. Rudy Crew did a good job in a system that is not accountable or properly organized, and needs to be thoroughly reformed."
City Council Speaker Peter Vallone concurred, saying that the chancellor was not the problem. In fact, Vallone called Crew "a visionary and innovator with a portfolio of educational and administrative experience."