Public Employee Press

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Dictatorship or democracy for our school system?

Under the current mayoral control structure, real parental and community input has been choked off in the schools our children and grandchildren attend. The New York City school system has been turned into a private enterprise, with no public review of its budget.

New York City is the only locality in the United States that does not have community school boards, leaving the Dept. of Education to make major budget and staffing decisions without informed input from school administrators, staff, parents and communities.

The Dept. of Education lays off vital employees while it issues multimillion-dollar contracts to private companies that charge more for the same work. The public schools are overcrowded and poorly maintained while charter schools expand and further marginalize the majority of our children.

The result is a disaster — a graduation rate of only 62 percent — no better than Mississippi, which spends only one-third as much per pupil.

The state Legislature is considering extending Mayoral Control.

Dial for democracy
Make Your Voice Heard

Call Governor Paterson, your State Senator and Assembly member at 1-877-255-9417 to say – Make the Dept. of Education a Mayoral Agency. Require the Chancellor to have education credentials. Elect Community School Boards. Create an Independent Assessment and Evaluation of Educational Achievement and Testing Data. Create an independent and autonomous Office of Contracts.