Wounding mayoral control: Albany grudgingly grants a few more years to keeping schools accountable

Do they sell “Thank You for Nothing” cards? That’s what Mayor Adams and Chancellor David Banks should send to the Legislature after their too-clever-by-half maneuver extending mayoral control over the public school system , which some are counting as a victory for the city.

What is broadly called “mayoral control” is not really that. It’s placing accountability for the nation’s largest school system, one of the most important and expensive functions of local government, in the hands of the city’s top elected official — the person chosen by more New Yorkers than any other, in the highest-profile, highest-information election.

Indeed, giving the mayor the ability to choose who leads the Education Department , and giving that individual the power to set policy without lots of other elected or appointed officials meddling, is the best approximation of popular control we can think of. That’s why nobody questions giving the mayor control over the Parks Department or Sanitation Department or Police Department or Health Department, all of which touch the lives of millions of New Yorkers.

The old Board of Education, to pick just one example of a model that some seem to think is more democratic, consisted of seven members appointed variously by five borough presidents and the mayor, with nobody wielding majority authority. Those seven officials with a range of allegiances chose the chancellor and set the policy, and 32 hyperlocal, supposedly democratic community school boards picked by tiny numbers of voters also had a significant role.

Actual public participation in this system was a farce. Ergo, the status quo (and the teachers union) won almost every battle. New York is leaning back into farcical territory with the mayoral control reforms now on the books.

The Panel for Educational Policy , the board that votes on major proposals and approves major contracts, will grow by one member from 23 to 24, giving the mayor, who gets 13 picks, an even slimmer majority than he already has. And now, the chair will have to be picked from a list chosen by other officials including state Senate and Assembly leaders — who could be from Binghamton or Buffalo, and who represent 300,000 and 130,000 New Yorkers each, respectively — and the appointed head of the state’s Board of Regents, who could hail from Suffolk or Schoharie County. This is a step forward for public accountability how?

Also under the deal, the city will be forced to make firmer commitments to comply with a terrible state law mandating smaller class sizes, further tying the hands of principals and education leaders who want reasonable flexibility to manage and balance resources. Never mind that public school enrollment has been falling citywide .

And rather than extend the authority indefinitely, which is how long it should be granted (the Legislature always has the power to change the laws if and when it feels it must), or four years as Gov. Hochul sought, lawmakers gave the mayor two more years, ensuring that he’ll have to come begging back again for the right to run the schools.

To borrow from Winston Churchill, mayoral control isn’t perfect, but it’s better than any other system that’s been tried. Since it’s been in place, graduation rates are way up, as are test scores. For chipping away at it, thank you for nothing, Albany.