Legislators Propose Check On Mayor's School Power

DANIEL SQUADRON: Parents need a real voice.

A bill in the State Legislature and a draft of recommendations to the State Senate Majority Leader both call for significant changes to mayoral control of the city school system, harkening back to the Community School Boards system that existed before the law was changed in 2002.

Bill 3912-B, sponsored in the Senate by Daniel Squadron of Manhattan and in the State Assembly by Jeff Dinowitz of The Bronx, promises to "provide the voice that public school parents need and deserve" by transforming local Community Education Councils into more-independent bodies that do not answer to the Schools Chancellor.

Mayor Likely to Oppose

Mayoral control, which the Legislature granted in 2002, is up for renewal in June. Mayor Bloomberg has opposed several proposals that would dilute his authority over the school system, saying they would undermine the progress made during the past seven years.

"We are reviewing the proposal. In general, we won't support anything that weakens mayoral control and slows the progress we're making for students," said mayoral spokeswoman Dawn Walker in a statement on Sen. Squadron's bill.

MARTIN MALAVÉ-DILAN: Caught in his draft.

The bill criticizes the Department of Education's treatment of the CECs, which were created to replace the Community School Boards that existed under the old Board of Education. The CECs have recently come under fire for the anemic interest in their most recent elections, where seven out of 33 did not have enough candidates to fill out all of their seats.

"Unlike the more successful model of the New York City Community Boards, [the CECs] have not been independently empowered to be the effective voices of the city's parent and public school communities," Mr. Squadron's Senate bill stated. "CECs have been unable to define their role in education decision-making because they lack a procedural roadmap for influencing policy decisions."

Mr. Squadron and Mr. Dinowitz would change this by "modeling [the CECs] after the New York City Community Boards." The two major changes would give the Borough President "the primary responsibility for training CEC members" and each CEC the ability to approve or deny all local DOE proposals through a "Uniform Parental Engagement Procedure."

Proposes Borough Councils

The bill would also create a "Borough Education Council," comprised by Borough Presidents, City Council Members and CEC Presidents, to spell out CEC policy independently of the Schools Chancellor.

"Only by empowering truly independent input from parents and com- munity leaders will the DOE be able to command broad support for its initiatives and its direction," the bill concluded. "For the benefit of the city's school children and the city's future, CECs must be reformed and empowered."

At the same time, a State Senate report on mayoral control recommending an independent panel resembling the old Board of Education to evaluate and act as a check on the Schools Chancellor was leaked to the tabloids. It was quickly dismissed as a "draft" by its author, State Sen. Martin Malavé Dilan.

Mr. Dilan wrote the draft of recommendations to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith as the co-chair of the Task Force on New York City School Governance.

He reportedly called for a "countervailing body as a check on the Chancellor," noting that the current Panel for Education Policy failed to do so.

"The PEP, in its current form, is not a truly independent body and must be significantly reformed if it is to take on this role," recommended Mr. Dilan. "If it continues to act at the pleasure of the Mayor, a new body or a resurrected Board of Education should be established to serve in such a capacity."

"This report does not reflect the views of the Senate Democratic Majority, nor does it reflect the findings and views of all the members of the task force who participated in the seven public hearings held across New York City," said Mr. Dilan in a subsequent statement. "This report reflects my own findings as co-chair of the Task Force on New York City School Governance. It is a draft that serves only to outline public response and recommended action."

Mr. Dilan's recommendations appear to be in line with the United Federation of Teachers' proposal on school governance, which also advocated strengthening the PEP to act as a more independent check on the Schools Chancellor.