Panel members worried about selection process for D.C. schools chief

Members of the panel who advised Mayor Vincent Gray on his selection of Kaya Henderson as the new D.C. schools chancellor were concerned that the process would “come off as a sham” as some said they would rather evaluate multiple candidates. “[A] panel member objected to a system where the mayor hand-picks a chancellor, the chancellor hand-picks the deputy chancellor, and the public’s opinion is not considered throughout all personnel decisions in the ranks of [D.C. Public Schools] leadership,” wrote Katherine Bradley, co-chairwoman of the Chancellor Selection Advisory Panel, in a report released Tuesday.

The 2007 Public Education Reform Amendment Act required Gray to convene a panel to advise him on the nomination of the chancellor.