Irving Anker

Irving Anker (October 27, 1911 – June 12, 2000) was an American educator and administrator who served from 1973 to 1978 as New York City Schools Chancellor, overseeing the largest school district in the United States at a time when control of schools was being transferred to local community school districts and when the fiscal crisis besetting the City of New York forced major staffing cuts. He had also served as Acting Chancellor in 1970 while the New York City Board of Education was searching for a permanent replacement.

Early life and education He was born on October 27, 1911, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, his parents were Jewish immigrants who had received little formal education. Anker was named as an assistant superintendent in 1966 and was replaced as principal of Benjamin Franklin High School by Leonard F. Littwin.

Deputy and Acting Chancellor While searching for a permanent Superintendent of Schools in 1970 for Nathan Brown, the Board of Education named Anker to serve as Acting Superintendent until the position was filled. The Board had approached, and been turned down by, such notables as Ralph Bunche, Ramsey Clark, Arthur J. Goldberg and Sargent Shriver, before choosing Harvey B. Scribner, who had been Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Education and superintendent of the Teaneck Public Schools, where he oversaw the implementation of a voluntary school integration program.

Described as an "answer man to any question anybody's got about the city's school system", Anker didn't know that his salary as Acting Superintendent of Schools would be $48,000, and increase of almost $14,000 from his previous post as assistant superintendent. Anker's title was renamed to Chancellor as of July 1, 1970, the same day that the 32 local school boards were to take office. Anker expressed concern that "decentralization is going to be a time-consuming and touchy job" and expressed fears that it could lead to all-white and all-black schools.

After being selected as Chancellor and as desired by the board of education, Scribner chose Anker to fill the newly created position of deputy chancellor at an annual salary of $48,000, to give Scribner a senior aide and second-in-command with experience in the New York City system. Scribner's post in Vermont did not expire until September 1, 1970, and Anker remained as Acting Chancellor until that date.

Citing what he called a "confidence gap" with the Board of Education, Scribner announced in December 1972 that he would leave his post as Chancellor when his three-year contract ended on June 30, 1973.

Before going on a vacation (that would prove permanent) starting on April 1, 1973, Chancellor Scribner named Anker to serve as Acting Chancellor until Scribner's contract expired on June 30. While the New York City Board of Education had not decided on a replacement, Anker was seen as the most likely person to fill the spot on a permanent basis if the board's choice was an "insider".

Chancellor As had been widely expected, Anker was named as School Chancellor in June 1973, with Samuel Polatnick as executive director of the Office of High Schools, Dr. Edythe J. Gaines atop the Office of Educational Planning and Support and Alfredo Mathew, Jr., as chief of the Office of School District Affairs.

As School Chancellor, Anker oversaw the decentralization program that began in 1969 in which staffing choices in elementary and middle schools were made by a network of 32 community school boards. Often viewed as a steppingstone to political office or as an opportunity for patronage, Anker was often at odds with the local boards, ultimately investigating charges of corruption or mismanagement in seven of the 32 local boards and using his powers to suspend board members or to override their actions. In one of his first confrontations, after dismissing the school board of District 9 in the Bronx and replacing it with a trustee he appointed, Anker faced a sit-in by parents who viewed Anker's actions as a racially motivated effort to undermine local control.

City budget officials forced Anker to make $230 million in cuts, including the termination of 21,000 positions in the system, increasing class sizes and reducing much of the art, music and after-school programs that had previously been offered. The increased burdens on the remaining teachers led to a five-day strike in September 1975 by the United Federation of Teachers, which ended when Anker agreed with UFT head Albert Shanker to cut 90 minutes from the school day.

Personal After departing the city schools, Anker became an educational consultant, in addition to teaching at a Florida community college and at the Graduate School of Education of Long Island University.