City's Number Of 'Dangerous' Schools Drops

Mayor Bloomberg is trumpeting an announcement that the number of city schools on the state's "persistently dangerous" list is declining, saying the change is evidence that city schools have improved under his watch.

The state Education Department yesterday added six city schools to the "persistently dangerous" list and removed 15.

That leaves 16 New York City schools still on the list, along with three other schools located elsewhere in New York State.

The list is required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Several city middle schools were among those added to the list. Five schools from the special education district were taken off the list, as were a mix of 10 other elementary, middle, and high schools.

Mr. Bloomberg had recently announced an 11% drop in crime reported at schools.

In a statement, Mr. Bloomberg said the news was "not surprising." "Our schools' safety agents, teachers and principals should be proud, but we will push to keep the progress going," he said.

The president of the teachers union, Randi Weingarten, said the list has not served its purpose of fighting crime but rather become a "scarlet letter."

"There are far more than 19 dangerous schools in New York State," she said in a statement.