An education advisory panel voted unanimously Wednesday to recommended that the state's education commissioner grant Dennis Walcott a wavier, paving the way for him to become schools chancellor.

"It was clear to the entire panel that Mr. Walcott is, in fact, exceptionally qualified for the position," the panel said in a statement.

David Steiner, the state's education commissioner, has the final say and is expected to make his decision shortly.

Like former Chancellor Cathie Black, who Walcott's been tapped to replace, he needs the waiver from the state Department of Education because he does not hold certain education qualifications.

Walcott does hold a master's degree in education and is a former teacher, unlike Black, but does not have a superintendent's certificate.

The advisory panel ultimately recommended to grant Black a waiver, but was divided.

Walcott was in Albany on Tuesday, thanking members of the state Legislature for restoring education funds in the state budget last month that will allow for nearly 12,000 new classroom seats over the next five years.

Meanwhile, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she is concerned that Walcott does not appear interested in trying to protect teachers from a round of layoffs.

“The deputy mayor/chancellor-to-be said yesterday, 'not if, but when.' Now, in our budget response we made very clear, teacher layoffs are just about the last thing we want to do. So I was troubled by the 'not if, but when' statement yesterday," said Quinn. "Surely teachers in public schools are one of the most important services we provide. So this is something that is going to be at the top of the list of our budget negotiations.”

The city has said it plans to layoff about 4,500 teachers.