NYC Deputy Schools Chancellor Headed To La.

NEW YORK (AP) — A top official in New York City's Department of Education is leaving to take a position overseeing struggling schools in Louisiana.

Deputy Schools Chancellor John White will head a district of 82 low-performing schools, primarily in New Orleans. The appointment will have to be approved by a Louisiana state board on Friday.

White has served as New York City's deputy chancellor for talent, labor and innovation. He was negotiating with the teachers union to switch to a system in which teachers are rated partly based on student performance.

White told The New York Times that his decision was unrelated to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's appointment of publishing executive Cathie Black to head the city's Department of Education.

Several other department officials have left since Black became chancellor in January.