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  March 04, 2002
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RX FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: REORGANIZATION AND REFORM
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg


New York City's public school system is completely broken. It needs a total overhaul.

The evidence of the school system's failure is clear and abundant. Fewer than half our students meet State reading or math standards. At many high schools, the dropout rate is higher than the graduation rate-and since 1998, the citywide dropout rate has gone up by roughly one-third. Special education classes too often serve as a dumping ground for too many students, especially children from African American and Latino communities. One-fifth of teachers lack the credentials they should have for the courses they teach. Many schools are decrepit or desperately overcrowded. And it costs more to build a new school than it does to put up a luxury building in midtown Manhattan.

This record of failure is intolerable. New York City leads the world in fields ranging from finance to communications to the arts. There is no reason why our schools should not be world leaders as well.

On Friday, March 1st, I testified before the City Council Committee on Education, and outlined a set of critical reforms that will ensure that all 1.1 million students in our public schools can get the education they need and deserve. Those reforms include:

Passing State legislation to abolish the current structure for running the school system is the key to this reform program. The continued existence of the current Central Board of Education promotes diffused, confused and overlapping layers of authority. As a result, the Board creates clouds of uncertainty just where clarity of purpose is most needed. The Mayor should have sole control over the appointment of the Schools Chancellor, and the Chancellor should report directly to the Mayor. If democracy can be trusted to provide us with public safety, social services and economic development, how can we condemn our children to something less? I hope you'll join me in telling our legislators in Albany that mayoral accountability of our schools is essential.


Since becoming Mayor, I've met with business, political and education leaders. I've also talked with parents of public school students from throughout the five boroughs. Many of these people hold strongly opposing opinions on other issues but on this issue, everyone agrees that it's time for fundamental change in our schools.

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