Scott back as school board chief?

Sun-Times:

Michael Scott -- a consensus builder with a 25-year history with Mayor Daley --will be asked to return as Chicago Board of Education president in a shake-up that may include other board members, City Hall sources said Tuesday.

"We're looking at the board. Many members have been there for many years," Daley said after defending his appointment of CTA President Ron Huberman as schools CEO.

Sources said the mayor has decided to team Huberman with the politically-savvy Scott, who resigned in 2006 after five years as board president.

Scott would replace Rufus Williams, who has stepped on toes at the board and City Hall.

Scott is a consummate peacemaker who kept aldermen informed at every turn about decisions that impacted their local schools.

Williams has infuriated aldermen by imposing controversial policies without briefing them. He has also angered Daley by dominating mayoral press conferences with long-winded diatribes.

"He's not long on diplomacy. It was not a good fit," said a mayoral confidante, who asked to remain anonymous.
...
Scott is currently serving on the RTA board, a paid job that's far less time-consuming. But, a former colleague said, "Michael's as loyal a soldier as there has ever been. If the mayor needs him to do it, he'll do it."

Williams' term runs until June, 2011, but he acknowledged last week that he serves at Daley's pleasure. He is expected to be offered another spot that's a better fit, possibly on the Library Board.

Another story on the schools beat is one about an oversupply of teachers from the Tribune...

Frigid temperatures and subzero wind chills didn't keep job seekers away from a Chicago Public Schools teacher career fair.

"I had 1,100 show up at 25 below zero (windchill). That tells you this spring is going to be wild," said chief recruiting officer Nancy Slavin, predicting a busy hiring season for Chicago.

The nation's third-largest city school system is seeing a deluge of applications, a phenomenon usually associated with coveted suburban jobs. Applications have doubled in five years—to 23,568 for the 2008-09 school year—fueled in part by the economy but also by a glut of new teachers statewide.

Illinois is producing thousands more new teachers than public school districts are hiring, with oversupplies in all subject areas except bilingual education, according to a 2008 analysis by the Illinois Department of Education. The "overproduction" of teachers is highest in social science, according to the state.

And now a Sun-Times editorial about the pensions of public school teachers and superintendents...

I can't believe the inflated salaries at the end of a superintendent's or even a teacher's tenure, so they can get these inflated pensions. Also I can't believe that these same people accrue so many unused sick and vacation days. Seems like my kids are always having substitutes. Talk about taking the taxpayers for a ride.

These stories are via the Capitol Fax morning shorts.