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Harold O. Levy, Managing Director – Special Counsel, Plainfield Asset Management

Biography provided by participant

Harold O. Levy served as New York City Schools Chancellor from 2000-2002. Previously, he served as a senior lawyer at several financial institutions including Salomon Brothers and Citigroup, where he was Director of Global Compliance. He was also a senior executive of Kaplan Higher Education and helped found an online school of education. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Cornell University and a master's degree from Oxford University.

Recent Responses

July 20, 2009 12:56 PM

RE: Do Schools Need Independent Auditors?

Data can be fudged. Almost every large school district reports 90% average daily attendance yet their data also shows that 30% of the students are absent in total a month each year. Similarly, the state reading scores for both Chicago and Illinois show dramatic improvement, yet the NAEP scores are largely flat. This data may be able to be reconciled but right now, the public doesn’t know whom to trust. Relying on misleading or bogus data is not new. When George W. Bush rose to power on the success of the Texas Miracle in education and persuaded Congress to enact…  Read more

July 6, 2009 07:55 AM

RE: Is 'Mayoral Control' The Answer For Urban Schools?

Mayoral control is not a high principle of state, akin to free speech or racial equality. It should not be adopted uniformly. In the wrong hands, it could be disastrous. Mayors, after all, often make political decisions. Consider: The only part of the school system that New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani controlled directly was the siting of new schools. At one point he built three brand new schools on Staten Island, a borough where crowding was minimal and students could have been reassigned to more empty schools -- and none in Washington Heights, where the handful of decrepit buildings…  Read more

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This Education Blog is funded by support provided, in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the purpose of creating an educational forum for sharing research, ideas and opinions regarding issues related to college readiness and college completion. The Blog may not be used to post partisan political statements supporting or opposing candidates for public office. All statements and materials posted on the Blog, including any statements regarding specific legislation, reflect the views of the individual contributors and do not reflect the views of National Journal or the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation. National Journal and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation take no positions regarding any legislation discussed in the Blog. National Journal reserves the right to monitor material placed on this site and to remove any posting they may deem inappropriate.

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