It can't possibly be true, right?

A brief, troubling exerpt from the New York Times, talking about how principals are trained in New York City:

The method of filling those vacancies, however, has been markedly altered under Mr. Klein. As chancellor, he jettisoned the so-called Distinguished Faculty program, which used veteran or newly retired principals to nurture newly appointed ones. The Distinguished Faculty program, which reached 500 principals for a total cost of $1.5 million, was replaced by the $70-million Leadership Academy, which drew much of its curriculum from corporate management training. The academy’s first leader, Robert E. Knowling Jr., had most recently demonstrated his leadership skills as chief executive officer of the telecommunications company Covad, which he left $1.4 billion in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy while he received a $1.5 million severance package.

A program that costs 40 times as much as what was in place is given over to run to someone with obviously poor leadership skills. That's more than troubling, it's bizarre.