Here is a story from WNYC.org, which is based upon its Brian Lehrer program yesterday, where John Sampson, the democratic leader of the gridlocked New York State Senate explained the changes he wanted to make to the law governing the New York City Public Schools.
If you’re not from New York, here’s a brief recap: the law that gives the Mayor of New York near complete control of the public schools expired on June 30th. There is a bill in one of the two State houses that has been passed, which basically leaves the mayor’s control intact, and everyone is waiting on the gridlocked Senate, the other house, to resolve the question of which party is in power, so it can presumably debate the bill and vote, which would ultimately send something to Governor Paterson for his signature.
Senator Sampson has introduced his own school governance legislation, and yesterday on WNYC, he was asked what changes he wanted to make and why.
Here’s a quote as reported on the WNYC website:
REPORTER: Sampson says he and his colleagues want more funding for arts
education, more training for parents, to get them involved in their
child’s education, and more accountability. Mayor Bloomberg brushed
aside those suggestions.BLOOMBERG: I have no idea what he’s talking about. I think that’s the
nicest way to phrase it. We are trying very hard to have a great arts
program. I want the teachers and the principals to run the schools, not
the parents.