Mayoral Control – The Verdict is in!
(from the June 2012 Delegate Assembly)
Click Leaflet 2012 June for printable version
The Bloomberg/Klein years have been an absolute disaster for education, our members, our students, our parents, our communities, and our schools. For New York City educators the verdict is in – we cannot suffer three more years of mayoral “mis” control of our schools. The last time the UFT faced this question, we put together a Task Force. It engaged 1,200 educators, parents, students, elected officials and community groups in numerous public hearings. The Task Force concluded that its primary goal was “passing legislation in Albany which will change the system of governance to make it work better students, for teachers and for schools.”
The Task Force recommended:
- Checks and Balances to prevent abuses of power in the current system
- Real Voice for Teachers, Parents and the Community to restore school and district leadership teams to the rightful place as leaders of educational and budgetary decision-making.
- Rule of Law to stop the DOE from simply ignoring the parts of state law it finds inconvenient.;
- Transparency and Accountability to end DOE’s practices of. arbitrary school closings and other secretive practices.
But after the Task Force recommendation, President Weingarten agreed to give the mayor absolute control over the PEP which has decided the fate of scores of schools.
The UFT is NOW reconstituting the Task Force to examine mayoral control.
NEW ACTION HAS ALREADY CONCLUDED THERE’S BEEN ENOUGH “TINKERING” WITH MAYORAL CONTROL.We call for an end to mayoral control of the school system. We should not place our faith in the next “friendly education” mayor. We are calling for an end to mayoral control!
We do not oppose the call for another Task Force. They may come to the same conclusion. HOWEVER, New Action will not participate in yet another Task Force.
It is in the interest of the educational community to conclude that mayoral control of the schools has been a disaster. We call for an independent panel of people, fairly and democratically chosen with background and knowledge in education. The precise make-up of the new panel should be determined after broad discussion and consultation with all stakeholders.
Leave a Reply