Democratic Lawmakers Consider Diluted Mayoral Control of New York Schools

Mayoral control of New York City public schools is looking likely to be diluted as it is renewed, with Democrats considering a new proposal that would alter the makeup of New York City’s school board.Democratic assembly members this week were presented with a proposal that would renew the mayoral control mandate for three years but would lessen the mayor’s control over the Panel for Education Policy, which is responsible for approving all contracts and schoolwide policies. The body is made up of 15 members, nine of whom are currently appointed by the mayor. This majority usually guarantees that the mayor’s agenda passes. Mayor Adams has stated his general opposition to changes in the composition of the panel, saying that “if you lose power of the PEP, you lose power of mayoral accountability.”The new proposal would bring the total number of seats to 18 from 15 — presumably to increase parental representation on the board. The proposal also would impose set terms for appointees, which could prevent the mayor from replacing members who do not vote for his agenda.Over the past few months, lawmakers have reiterated concerns that mayoral control prevents adequate parental engagement. The chairman of the New York City education committee in the state senate, John Liu, has said that parental exclusion has been “the number one complaint and criticism of school governance” in the city. The state legislature previously increased the number of seats on the PEP to address similar concerns. In 2019, the state legislature added two voting seats — one to be elected by local school advisory boards, the Community Education Councils, and one to be appointed by the mayor.The chairman of the education committee in the Assembly, Michael Benedetto, told the Sun that, while he supports mayoral control, he wants to put forward a bill that “reflects [assembly] members’ concerns to make sure parents have a little bit more input into the process while still retaining mayoral control.”The current mayoral control mandate expires June 30, and the legislative session ends June 2.Legislators have fewer than five full days in session before summer recess.The presentation of the proposal under consideration took place in a closed meeting, and as of Tuesday morning, Mr. Benedetto’s committee was taking feedback on the initial proposal. Both the assembly and the senate would need to pass the bill before Governor Hochul could sign it into law.

Democratic Lawmakers Consider Diluted Mayoral Control of New York Schools

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