Businessman Chosen as N.Y. School Chancellor

A businessman with little background in education was picked Wednesday evening to take over the nation’s largest school system.

The Board of Education unanimously named Harold Levy, the interim chancellor, as the man to permanently replace the ousted Rudy Crew, who lost the job after an ideological battle with Republican Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

“We cannot go this road alone,” Levy said Wednesday. “We go this road only if we have strong partnerships.”

He has already managed a step in that direction, with Giuliani agreeing to reinstate regular meetings with the chancellor, which were suspended during Crew’s tenure.

Levy has support from another source as well: mayoral hopeful and Public Advocate Mark Green.

“Harold Levy’s ideas, energy and vision made his selection as chancellor irresistible,” Green said, predicting the new chief will reduce class sizes and integrate technology with school work for the city’s 1.1 million public school students.

Levy, 47, was originally selected to serve in January while the board sought a permanent replacement for Crew. He was granted a special waiver by the state’s top education official, to get around the rule that only educators can serve.

Five months later, he was the only candidate left who still wanted the post.

Giuliani, who had strongly objected to Levy’s appointment as interim schools chancellor, dropped his opposition Tuesday.

Levy came to the job from the corporate world, working as director of global compliance for Citigroup.