Governor Okays Mayoral Control of Schools

At last, after enduring a seeming implacable obstacle, New York City remains under the control of Mayor Bloomberg.  Governor David Paterson, with the mayor looking on, recently signed the bill authorizing Bloomberg to resume his control of the public schools system.

However, the governor was less eager to reveal his choice for mayor in the upcoming election.

“I haven’t announced the person that I think should be mayor, and I guess I’ll do that before an election,” he promised.  At a birthday celebration Tuesday evening at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan, the governor was still reticence about his choice, keeping his mind on the emcee chores.

Mayor Bloomberg wasn’t at the fete but the leading Democratic contender, Bill Thompson, was, but he too kept his remarks keyed to the Rangel celebration.

Paterson’s reluctance to throw his support to Thompson when he is trailing Bloomberg in the polls is not a good sign.  Although, given Paterson’s dwindling hopes in his run to be re-elected, Thompson may not need his backing at the moment.

Earlier in the year, Paterson seemed to indicate that he would not endorse Bloomberg, despite acknowledging that he was a very competent leader.

“I am the leader of the Democratic Party in New York State,” he told a reporter last spring, “and there are a lot of good candidates thinking about running, and I would expect I'll support the winner of that Democratic primary."

Last week the State Senate passed the bill by a vote of 47-8, thereby ending the long wait following the fiasco in Albany.   For the last seven years the mayor has been in control of a system serving a little more than a million students.

The vote guarantees control until 2015 with a few additions agreed to by Bloomberg.

Among the new features to his control is the creation of a parent training center to be operated through CUNY; the establishment of an arts advisory council; a requirement for schools to hold meetings on school safety; and a clarification of the role of superintendants in evaluating principals in their district.

Malcolm Smith of Queens and the Senate President, applauded the measures and said that mayoral control has been a “big success.”  Even so, there were a few tweaks in order. “Through rigorous debate and thoughtful discussion with educational community advocates the Senate improved school governance by increasing parental input and strengthening measures for transparency and fiscal accountability," said Smith.

In June, the Assembly had passed the bill by a 129-18 vote with only a few minor changes to improve oversight and the involvement of parents.

Bloomberg must feel somewhat vindicated by the Senate vote since he had lambasted a few of the senators for their inability to take care of business in a timely and respectable fashion.

Reacting to Bloomberg’s outburst, several senators met as City Hall and chastised the mayor as being “whiney” and attempting to bully people when he can’t get his way.

But now, as politics of New York continues its ups and downs, everything seems to be okay between the mayor and Albany.