With no interest in the permanent job, Chicago Community Trust CEO Terry Mazany agreed Tuesday to run Chicago public schools -- in exchange for $1 -- until a new mayor takes office.

At the Chicago Community Trust, Mazany helped pump $50 million into Chicago schools. The Trust has agreed to "loan'' him to the nation's third-largest school system while paying his Trust salary.

Mazany, 54, will serve as a temporary replacement for Schools CEO Ron Huberman, whose last day on the job will be Monday.

"I do not have an interest in pursuing this job on a permanent basis. I have what I consider the second-best job in Chicago and look forward to resuming that at the end of this interim period," he said.
Mayor Daley said he chose Mazany to hold down the fort until a new mayor taps a replacement because of Mazany's unique mix of management and education experience.
"It was important . . . to make sure that a good quality person could be the interim [Schools CEO] and be able to work with the education system," Daley said.
Though never a certified teacher, Mazany served as associate superintendent of schools in Southfield, Mich., and Oakland, Calif., where he led improvement efforts. His master's degree in business administration focused on organizational change.
At the Trust, he headed a $50 million initiative to, among other things, prop up reading, help teachers achieve rigorous national certification, support Renaissance 2010 efforts to create new schools and expand charter schools -- all pet Daley projects.
The mayor gave Mazany four marching orders:
- Find a new chief education officer to fill a job that has been vacant since July 1.
- Improve neighborhood schools and expand charter schools.
- Protect students going to and from school and continue Huberman's "culture of calm" program offering tutoring, mentoring and jobs to students most at risk.
- Continue to work with the Chicago Teachers Union on a teacher evaluation form.
At a City Hall news conference, Mazany said he considers it "absolutely essential" to get parents more involved.
He also plans to build on Huberman's data-heavy performance evaluation system. Mazany considers it unique and "one of the remarkable things" his predecessor did.
Chicago Teachers Union officials and Chicago Principals Association President Clarice Berry said Mazany should forgo the traditional January list of schools targeted for closure. It would be based on test scores that "weren't garnered on his watch,'' Berry said.
With the system facing an estimated $700 million deficit, Mazany's budget skills could be helpful, Berry said. Plus, she said, "he has tremendous experience and cachet in the philanthropic world so this may be a boon to bring in extra dollars'' to CPS.
TERRY MAZANY
- Raised in Eugene, Ore.; lives in South Loop.
- Married, three adult children.
- Master's degrees in anthropology and business administration
- Past jobs include public school administrator in Michigan and California.
- First career was archeologist and dendrochronologist.
- Ran in four Chicago marathons.
Photo: John H. White, Sun-Times / Mayor Daley named Terry Mazany interim CEO for Chicago Public Schools.

Fran Spielman and Rosalind Rossi