Tuesday, March 15, 2016

NYS SENATE REPUBLICANS PUT HURDLES IN THE WAY OF EXTENSION OF MAYORAL CONTROL OF SCHOOLS

This piece from New York State of Politics shows that the Republican controlled New York State Senate is playing hardball with NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio on extending mayoral control of New York City schools.

The GOP conference -- which has been at odds with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a liberal Democrat who in 2014 sought to flip the chamber to Democratic control -- rejected the extension "without prejudice" according to the resolution's language.

"Prior to granting any significant extension of this authority, the Senate believes public hearings should be held to assess the current structure and identify any possible areas of improvement including but not limited to creating heightened parental involvement in Community Education Councils and the Panel for Education Policy," the resolution states.

These senators worrying about parental involvement is beyond a joke.

The article notes that the GOP would not did not threaten this step when former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was funding their election campaigns but now it is a different story.

With that said, besides the mayor and Michael Mulgrew, would anyone shed a tear if mayoral control sunsets in June?

It's hard to see the Senate giving the power back to a combination of the Borough Presidents (5 appointees on the Board of Education) and the Mayor (2 appointees) but maybe the State Legislature does just that doing nothing, something they are quite adept at.

9 comments:

ATR 25/55 said...

The wild-card here is Cuomo. He wants some items ($15 minimum wage, etc.) to put himself into play for the 2020 elections a a progressive leader. He also hates DiBlasio. It could all hinge on the special election to fill Skelos' seat in Nassau next month. Does Cuomo influence the Senate or leave them alone on this issue?

Anonymous said...

DeBlasio should not have mayoral control. The guy is clueless and lacks sound judgement. He's just as bad as Bloomberg, but in reverse. Nice guy, though - can't say the same about Mulgrew. He knows what he's doing, and everything he does is self serving - a union version of Cuomo. This whole public school system will be gone in 5 - 10 years unless the UFT leadership is removed. Vote Solidarity.

Anonymous said...

Yes vote Solidarity for a megalomaniac lunatic. That's just what the UFT needs. The UFT would be gone in months if that nutcase were in charge.

Anonymous said...

Gee, thanks for clearing that up. I'll change my vote immediately based on your objective unbiased case against Soldarity. Wow, I really now get it about MORE!

Anonymous said...

Any candidate would be better than Mulgrew and Unity and Company. Every union that settled contracts after the UFT did better. We wait until 2020 for all our raises. What a disgrace.

Anonymous said...

I think we lost Mayoral Control when the state mandated how teachers are to be evaluated. There's really nothing left *to* control after that. That was a surreptitious take over by the state of NY. They now effectively control hiring and firing from their wonky database in Albany. WTF, people? WTFF?!

Anonymous said...

. . . And, notice that we *still* don't have a written contract, just a Memo. That's because the State blew up our collective bargaining with that law on evaluations. There's nothing left to write a contract about.

James Eterno said...

It should still be incorporated into a contract book.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I was just trying to point out that the state blew up our process of collective bargaining and nobody said boo. I think that's called tortious interference, or something. It is actionable.