I thought the headline was sarcastic when I saw it flash across my computer screen on The Times website.
According to New York City Schools Chancellor Cathellen P. Black, birth control just might be the solution to school overcrowding.
Yesterday evening during a meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his school overcrowding task force, Ms. Black addressed the problem head-on:
“Couldn’t we just have some birth control for a while?” Ms. Black asked. “It would really help us.”
Demographic projections predict a shortage of 1,000 school seats by 2015 in the downtown Manhattan area.
Yes, Ms. Black laughed at her own comment. Still, perhaps I'm not getting the joke. I certainly don't find it funny.
Ms. Black's spokeswoman, Natalie Ravitz, offered an apology on behalf of Chancellor Black, and characterized the comment as an "off-handed joke."
Isn't it so comforting to know City kids are in the hands of a woman with a sense of humor?
Maybe I would find the "joke" funny if it were part of a conversation at my dinner table. But coming from the chancellor--the woman whose job it is to ensure that our children receive an education--I find it nothing short of twisted and disconcerting.
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