Black leaders say no to Huberman for CPS

On Tuesday, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that Ron Huberman, 37, president of the Chicago Transit Authority, would replace Arne Duncan as head of the Chicago Public Schools. Duncan resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Education.

Speculation loomed that as Duncan’s right hand, Barbara Eason-Watkins, who now serves as the chief education officer for CPS, would assume the top post for the nation’s third largest school district.

Instead, Daley said she would be working closely with Huberman to improve the system that serves over 400,000 students, with an annual budget of over $4 billion.

Huberman pledged to work with CPS administrators, teachers and parents to make Chicago a top education city.

“This is the most important job I have undertaken, so I want to thank the mayor for this opportunity,” he said at the Tuesday press conference announcing his appointment.

But Black leaders are blasting Huberman’s appointment, especially over Eason-Watkins.

“We need, for the sake of our children, a leader within the education arena,” Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown told the Defender.

“I understand the mayor wants a good manager for this job. That’s why he should have picked Barbara Eason-Watkins. She is a good manager and a good educator. I have worked with Ron Huberman before and he is a fine man, but this is not the job for him.”

Chicago Teacher’s Union President Marilyn Stewart had similar concerns.

“We were hoping the mayor would appoint someone with a strong background in education since we face so many challenges as an urban district,” she said.

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