When Michael Bloomberg leaves office, do you think that the next mayor should retain complete control of the public schools or share control of the public schools with other elected leaders?
Tot Rep Dem Ind
Retain control 22% 23% 21% 26%
Share control 68 68 70 65
DK/NA 10 9 10 10
That is an overwhelming majority that wants the mayor to share control of the school system.
This won't happen, of course, because Our Dear Leaders in Albany and the businessmen and businesswomen who own this state won't allow this to come to pass.
But if we lived in an actual democracy as opposed to a fake democracy where we have the illusion of democratic choice, we would get a school system with shared controlled between the mayor, the borough presidents, and a duly elected school board or something along those lines.
Instead we get autocracy.
And remember, this is promoted at not just the city and state level, but by the feds too.
Arne Duncan, in a rare moment of honesty, went on record saying he would consider his tenure at the USDOE a failure if he did not increase the number of municipalities with mayoral control of the schools.
Who cares if 68% of city voters oppose mayoral control?
This is about the kids!
Mayors first!
And our pals running the UFT? hate democracy so much, they prefer an autocratic mayor to run the schools. Sort of like the way the DA is run.
ReplyDeleteRead the great article by Brooke Parker on the Ed Notes Online site. Incredible that the kids will be doing more cumulative time in their seats than they would if they were taking the SATs or the LSATs. What has happened to education over the last decade is appalling. The sleeping giant that is the rank and file of the UFT, needs to wake up and work together with the families who are sick of what is being shoved down their throats.
ReplyDeleteWhat chance does the results of this poll have of changing the UFT position on mayoral control?
ReplyDeleteNone. They would argue that the poll plays right into their mayoral control reforms, which would force a less rigged PEP onto the next mayor.
DeleteAs Norm always points out, the UFT leadership hate deomcracy and want to make sure that the control of the school system stays in the hands of the few and the powerful.