Saturday, February 21, 2009

Scott returns to lead Board of Education

Sun-Times:
Whatever the reason, Scott is back for a return engagement as Chicago Board of Education president -- just in time to inherit the controversy surrounding the proposed closing or shakeup of 22 schools.

He replaces Rufus Williams, who was forced out after ruffling feathers at City Hall and the Chicago Public Schools.

In 2001, the last time Scott took the hot seat, it was with the understanding it would last no more than two years. He ended up staying five.

This time, he has agreed to stay through the 2011 election -- long enough to give newly appointed schools chief Ron Huberman a solid foundation.
Chi-Town Daily News has more:

Rufus Williams, the president of the board since 2006, is expected to resign soon, says Vanessa Hall, a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard M. Daley. Michael Scott, who was the president of the board from 2001 to 2006, is expected to take Williams’ place, she said. But she did not know when the transition would happen.

The timing is important because all eyes will be on Wednesday’s board meeting, at which the members will vote on which schools to shutter in the latest round of closures under Renaissance 2010.

“We were kind of getting tired of Michael’s way of doing things, but when Rufus Williams, came in, that really threw us for a loop,” says Wanda Hopkins with Parents United for Responsible Education.

She credited Scott with working to involve parents in the past  and filling them in on the district’s plans, something she says Williams seldom did.

“He was not a person who was sensitive to parents,” Hopkins says of Williams. “I mean, he was an arrogant board leader.”

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