Schools hire stirs some ire

A former Boston public schools superintendent who was forced out of his job in June has landed a consulting gig with the city Education Department, the Daily News has learned.

Ousted Boston superintendent Tommy Chang was tapped by the city’s new Chief Academic Officer Linda Chen to produce a report on the ongoing reorganization of instructional divisions in the agency.

Chang (photo) will be paid a $10,000 consulting fee to produce the report, which education officials said is the going rate for such a project, which is expected to take about a month. The job wasn’t bid or posted publicly.

Some education staffers questioned the wisdom of hiring Chang, who left his job in Boston amid criticisms of Chang’s performance.

“There was evidence of his failure,” said one education employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “Why on earth would we hire him to work on New York City schools when he couldn’t succeed in Boston?”

City officials pointed out that Chang holds a doctorate in education and held senior roles in the Los Angeles school system before moving to Boston in 2015.

But Chang’s abrupt departure from Boston came after Mayor Martin Walsh chastised Chang over the misuse of school funds and openly groused that the schools weren’t improving fast enough under Chang’s leadership.

He also grabbed headlines for fighting with parents over a plan to change school start times and was sued for allowing information about the immigration status of students to be given to federal officials, which he denied.

Chang, who lives in California, expressed enthusiasm for his temporary gig in New York City schools.

Chang said, “I’m excited to support the New York City school system on this shortterm project.”