More than 1,000 seniors graduated from high school without their diplomas because the Department of Education had to reprint 100,000 that had former Schools Chancellor Cathie Black’s name on them and the schools couldn’t get the new ones ready in time.
It took the agency months at a cost of $242,880 to reprint the diplomas, and many schools didn’t receive the new ones until the day before graduation, reports the Daily News. In many cases, school principals didn’t have enough time to sign them all or apply the appropriate designations.
Black resigned in January after a series of gaffes and amid questions about her ability to effectively lead the nation’s largest public school system. She had been in the role for less than a year, succeeding longtime schools chancellor Joel Klein. Dennis Walcott, former deputy mayor of education, replaced Black.
The Department of Education stressed it began reprinting the diplomas immediately after the transition was announced and said all of the schools received their diplomas by Monday morning of this week.
The agency also noted that many schools emboss or make other special additions to the diplomas, which takes more time, and it's not unsual for students to receive their diplomas on a day other than graduation.
Many schools don't hand them out that day because of time constraints, and students often have the option of returning to school in the coming days to receive their diplomas.
