Watchdogs Question Bloomberg Beneficiary’s Spot on N.Y. Schools Panel

A leader of nonprofit groups that have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations from New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been named to the commission vetting his choice for schools chancellor, The New York Times reports.

Louise Mirrer runs the New York Historical Society and chairs the New York City Leadership Academy, which trains school principals. Both organizations have been supported by the billionaire mayor, whose administration has lobbied to put Cathleen Black in charge of the city’s schools.

Ms. Black’s hiring rests on securing a waiver from strict state laws regulating the chancellor’s educational requirements. Ms. Mirrer is one of eight members of a panel that will make a recommendation on the waiver, an appointment the watchdog groups Common Cause and the New York Public Interest Research Group said raises questions about the commission’s objectivity.

Ms. Mirrer said she did not believe the grants from Mr. Bloomberg’s philanthropy constituted a conflict of interest.