Dean Impressed with Bloomberg’s Control of Schools

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean is back from New York City and singing the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took over the school system there in 2002.

Dean met with Bloomberg to talk about mayoral control of schools and tour the New York system. Mayor Dean says he’s most impressed with the high-profile attorney Joel Klein who Bloomberg tapped to run day-to-day operations.

“He is one of the most highly regarded anti-trust lawyers in America who took on this position at the request of the mayor and has been, I think, excellent.”

Dean says he’s preparing himself to play a larger role in Metro Schools if the district fails to meet federal benchmarks again this year. However, he is taking a step back from the search for a new schools director after hiring a search firm with private funds to find a powerful interim director to shake things up. The board, instead, is pursuing a permanent director of schools with at least a three-year contract. The first round of interviews come this weekend.