After a week of trading verbal jabs over the issue of school governance, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the State Senate Democrats reached a deal that would extend Mayoral Control over public schools.
The deal, which Senators and City Hall representatives agreed to on Friday, July 24, adds amendments including $1.6 million for parent training centers throughout the city, the creation of an arts advisory council and strengthening the role of the district superintendents – all while keeping the mayor and school chancellor in charge of the school system.
“It preserves the accountability and authority necessary to ensure that the gains we’ve made – in math and reading scores, graduation rates and school safety – continue,” Bloomberg said in a statement released on Friday. “At the same time, the agreement addresses concerns that have been raised by legislators in a way that makes sense.”
Queens State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who has been a frequent critic of Mayoral Control, said that the amendments are a victory for the parents and schoolchildren. He praised the training center – the Queens location will be at York College – which will help parents become more involved in their children’s education.
“This is something I could foresee growing even larger,” said Monserrate, who expects the Senate to return to Albany sometime in August to vote on the legislation.
However, the passage of the amendments may not be a sure thing in the State Assembly, who passed the extension of Mayor Control in June.
“The only guarantee that was given was that we will take them up with our conference and let them decide what they want to do with them, probably sometime in September,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told the New York Post on Sunday.
Monserrate, when speaking with members of the Queens media on Monday, July 27, said he was not aware of the comments Silver made the day before. However, after hearing Silver’s comments, Monserrate said that it was his understanding that there was an agreement on these amendments
“I can’t see why the Assembly wouldn’t support these,” said Monserrate, who referred to the amendments as just common sense. “I think that might be causing more of a distraction than necessary.”
Last month, when the State Senate failed to act on the Assembly‘s Mayoral Control bill, the city took steps to appoint a temporary Board of Education – reverting to a system from more than seven years ago.
