Academic leader named for DPS

Detroit -- Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager announced the appointment of a new academic leader Thursday, filling a four-month void left after the firing of the past superintendent.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who has led three urban districts, including in Cleveland and New York City, will serve as the district's chief academic and accountability auditor.

Robert Bobb, the district's emergency manager, said Byrd-Bennett will be in the district today to help decide who will serve in the district's administrative spots, including principal roles.

"You need someone who is noted for being a turnaround agent, an agent of change," Bobb said. "Detroit is a huge urban school district. It needs to attract someone ... with a successful record and with impeccable qualifications, and that's what I've added to my team."

The district will still search for a new superintendent, Bobb said.

Byrd-Bennett will make $160,000.

News reports offer contrasting views of her performance. She was at the center of a series of scandals in Cleveland, ranging from inflated school bus ridership figures to irregularities in student attendance reports. She is credited in New York with turning around the troubled Crown Heights school district, which was among the city's worst.

Bobb said he went after Byrd-Bennett, learning about her through his research and many contacts. He praised her tenure.

"If she has screwed up, she wouldn't have been named superintendent of the year by the Council of the Great City Schools," he said.

Byrd-Bennett's roles at DPS will include reviewing and auditing all academic programs and front offices to identify cost-savings and investment opportunities to boost academic performance, the district said.

In a statement, Byrd-Bennett said: "This is an incredible opportunity to implement Mr. Bobb's vision and directives and ... using solid, research-based programs that raise student achievement levels for our children."

Former associates in Cleveland say she could boost DPS.

"She was a shining star here," said Powell Caesar, who was her communications counsel. "She did good things for the district at a time when it needed leadership."

In an unrelated development, Bobb, who has a year-long appointment here, told the San Francisco Chronicle for an article published Thursday he plans to run for mayor of Oakland, Calif., in 2010.

He told The Detroit News he is "1,000 percent committed" to his job here, but also said "I'm not going to close out any of my options."

Oralandar Brand-Williams contributed.