March 21, 2010 · www.gothamgazette.com

Gotham Gazette

Gotham Gazette: Social Networking Print Story

Share Story


Klein vs. the Schools
January 27th, 2009

The clock is ticking on mayoral control of schools, which is set to expire in June unless the state legislature votes to extend it. With the Assembly scheduled to hold its first public hearing on the issue Thursday, proponents of current system reportedly want to keep the debate from focusing on School Chancellor Joel Klein.

If this is a referendum on Joel Klein, that doesnt serve the interests of the school system, Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Learn NY, the campaign to keep mayoral control, told Gotham Schools.

Not surprising she would say that. Klein, it seems, wins few popularity contests.

“Insiders say that legislators largely support the concept of mayoral control but that some might hesitate to renew the law because they are not fans of Bloomberg or his schools chancellor, Joel Klein,” Crain’s Insider reported.

And earlier this month, the Post said that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who will have a major role in the legislature’s decision, also does not like Klein — to put it mildly. “Three sources said Silver simply can’t stand the chancellor,” the paper’s David Seifman wrote. “‘You can’t mention Klein’s name in Shelly’s presence,’ one of the sources said. ‘He hates him with a passion.’”

“Many of Silvers colleagues in the legislature are in the same boat,” according to Gotham School’s Elizabeth Green. “I havent found any lawmakers who dont complain about Klein.”

Green goes on to say this dislike stems from Klein’s purported disdain for politicians and his claims to have shut politics out of the school system (actually, he has substituted a different kind of politics — and what about his machinations on behalf of Caroline Kenney). In any case, Green said, Klein has enraged “lawmakers, who say the administration has gone beyond abolishing patronage and abolished any consultation whatsoever.”

It can be difficult to discern where the law of mayoral control stops and this mayor’s control — including Klein’s rule — begins.

“The law only sets a thin framework. Almost everything that Joel Klein has done is not in the law,” writes Ed in the Apple. “The current iteration has simply substituted the politics of the mayor and the chancellor for the politics of the locality, and, they did it with disdain.”

For more information on the Assembly hearings, including a schedule, go to NYC Public School Parents. And for more on the issues in the school governance debate and who stands where, see Gotham Gazette’s A Battle Brews Over Who Controls the Schools and Choosing Sides in the Fight Over Schools.

By Gail Robinson on January 27, 2009, 6:32 pm
In category: Albany, Education, Electoral Politics, Gotham City | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Leave a Reply


RSS Feed