New York City's Big Donors Find New Cause: Public Schools
"There is a club of people in New York that support just about everything - the museums, the libraries," said Merryl H. Tisch, a member of the state's Board of Regents whose husband, James S. Tisch, is chief executive of Loews Corporation and whose family cuts a wide swath in philanthropic circles. "Now, because Michael has such a good name and is so reputable, they are able to transfer that club into the school system."
In the context of the system's regular budget of about $15 billion a year, $311 million might seem insignificant. But the tax dollars come with so many strings that the administration has viewed private money as crucial for research and development and an array of experimental programs.
"You are able to do it without saying this is money that is going to come out of the classroom," Mr. Klein said in an interview.
So far, the mayor's and the chancellor's collections include more than $117 million to start new small schools; nearly $70 million to open an academy for principal training; $41 million for the nonprofit center supporting charter schools; $11.5 million to renovate libraries; $8.3 million to refurbish playgrounds; and $5.7 million to reshape troubled high schools.
New York City's Big Donors Find New Cause: Public Schools
A flair for high-society smooching has not always been an essential skill in running New York City's public schools. But there was Joel I. Klein, the schools chancellor, at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse, grinning awkwardly as he blew a kiss across the room to Elizabeth Rohatyn, the philanthropist and wife of the former ambassador to France.
The moment occurred at a November luncheon debate about education whose guests included fashionistas, artists, wealthy businessmen or, in many cases, their wealthy wives, and it captured how, in remaking the school system, Mr. Klein and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have forged a close bond with the private sector, raising $311 million and turning public education into a darling cause of the corporate-philanthropic-society set.
"When I went out 10 years ago to dinners, I rarely ever spoke about what I was doing in education," said Mrs. Rohatyn, who in 1994 founded Teaching Matters, a nonprofit organization that advocates better use of technology in schools. "I find that's very different now. People want to engage in it. They want to talk about it. They are enthused."
They are also known. The host for the luncheon was Sir Harold Evans, the former president of Random House, and the event was sponsored by the magazine The Week, where Sir Harold is editor at large. Guests included the fashion designer Mary McFadden; the performance artist Karen Finley; the photographer Dominique Nabokov; the mayor's companion, Diana Taylor; and a Republican candidate for governor, William F. Weld.
While much of the private money for the schools has come from major foundations eager to support what is widely regarded as the most exciting urban school overhaul in the country, many of the givers run in local society circles.
"There is a club of people in New York that support just about everything - the museums, the libraries," said Merryl H. Tisch, a member of the state's Board of Regents whose husband, James S. Tisch, is chief executive of Loews Corporation and whose family cuts a wide swath in philanthropic circles. "Now, because Michael has such a good name and is so reputable, they are able to transfer that club into the school system."...
posted by Whitney Tilson at 5:22 PM
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