Comptroller Calls For School Panel Immune To Mayoral Pressure

City Comptroller and mayoral candidate William C. Thompson, Jr. unveiled his proposal for school governance March 20, saying he supported renewal of the law, but proposed a board to supplant the Panel for Education Policy that would be independent of the Mayor.

"As we look ahead to the sunset of mayoral control, we should reauthorize the law, but we must strengthen it and do a better job of enforcing its existing provisions," Mr. Thompson said at an Assembly Education Committee hearing on school governance. "Parents must have a true voice in the decisions that impact their children's schools…it is time to put the 'public' back in public education."

Would Shift Panel's Balance

Mr. Thompson's main change comes in his recommendations for the PEP, a 13-member board that is supposed to act as a check to the Mayor and Schools Chancellor. Currently, the Mayor appoints eight of the board's members, including the Chancellor. Mr. Thompson, a former president of the old Board of Education, proposed to do away with the PEP, which has been broadly criticized as a rubber stamp for the Mayor's reforms. Five years ago, Mr. Bloomberg fired two of his appointees because they opposed a proposal to end social promotion for third-graders.

Mr. Thompson's replacement would be a nine-member school board, appointed entirely by the Mayor from a pool of nominees recommended by a nominating committee. Five committee members would be selected by the Mayor; one by each Borough President; four by the Parent Advisory Council; one would be a Teacher appointed by the United Federation of Teachers; one a Principal appointed by the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; one a college or university president selected by the State Education Commissioner; one a member of the business community appointed by a business entity selected by the Mayor; and one an education school faculty member appointed by the college or university president.

This committee would then nominate three candidates for each of the nine positions on the board, with the Mayor having final say on his or her picks. At least four of the nine candidates would need a background in education, finance or business management. The Mayor would also continue to appoint the Schools Chancellor.

Says It Worked Elsewhere

Mr. Thompson said that the system was "based on models from Boston and Cleveland" and that under it, the Mayor would "continue to exercise broad authority to direct policy, with the difference that—unlike the current system—voices representing students, parents and individuals with a wide range of education expertise will have the means to be heard."

Other changes he recommended would come at a more-local level, through legislation more clearly defining the roles of School Leadership Teams and Community Education Councils. District Family Advocates would also report to their District Superintendent rather than the Chancellor, which would bolster their ability to "resolve parent concerns," the Comptroller stated.

Mr. Thompson also recommended independent audits of test scores and graduation rates, amid concerns of data manipulation by the Department of Education. "If the public is to trust the city's claims of gains, we must remove both the incentive and the opportunity to manipulate results," he said. He also faulted the DOE for lacking open competition in awarding city contracts, saying that millions could be saved with a morecompetitive process.

"With its top-down approach, the current administration has sought to avoid debate and public scrutiny, while fundamental decisions regarding education reform have been made by executives with no education background," he said.