SCHOOL TALK: Sorting Out the Next 'Education Mayor'

As the number of mayoral candidates has increased, so has the array of forums and debates organized to get their stands on the issues out there. This past winter and spring I attended a few forums on education sponsored by various groups.

At a forum organized by the principals’ union, the questions posed included: Would he or she support raises and new contract for teachers and principals? Should there be merit pay? Should the next chancellor be required to have an education background? Parents of charter school students who trekked from the Bronx and Queens to the Salvation Army auditorium on West 14th Street came to hear about such issues as co-location and the advisability of charter schools paying rent to the DOE.

Probably the most well-rounded forum I attended took place at Murry Bergtraum High School one evening in June, thanks to the variety of sponsors, including Class Size Matters, the Coalition for Public Education, several unions, and parent groups such as Parents to Improve Transportation.

The forums were fascinating, mostly because of the audiences—sign-waving, opinionated and passionate New Yorkers who listen intently, know what they want, and wildly cheer or boo.

I wish I could say the same about the candidates, but it was difficult for them to distinguish themselves. Many share the same opinions on class size, standardized testing and school safety. The issues where they differ are so nuanced—charter schools, mayoral control, parent empowerment—that they are difficult to discuss in a fast-paced Q&A, with the moderator encouraging simple responses.

What would make one of this season’s candidates pull ahead of the others?

I would back the candidate who understands that educational equity doesn’t mean treating all schools exactly the same. The cookie-cutter approach of the Bloomberg administration simply hasn’t worked. What we need downtown more school seats, please—is different from the needs of a district of failing schools that doesn’t have the money to make necessary improvements because they are under-enrolled and don’t have well-functioning PTAs to fill in the gaps.

I would back someone who not only promises to give schools more money, but has ideas about where that money could come from.

Bill de Blasio has suggested increasing taxes for the top 1 percent in order to fund full-day pre-K programs for every four-year-old.

John Liu reminds audiences that the city has never received the money the state owes us for having underfunded our schools for many years. He also believes that the money the DOE pays to consulting companies should be going to the schools instead. Liu was recently endorsed by District Council 37 because of his reputation for standing up for the neglected, according to the union’s director.

Meanwhile, the United Federation of Teachers endorsed Bill Thompson, citing his experience as a teacher and the head of the former Board of Education. Mostly, though, he is the antithesis of Bloomberg, who, intentionally or not, has antagonized the teachers’ union for the last 12 years. I admired Thompson at one of the forums for often being the only voice of dissent on some hot-button issues. When he said he would not relinquish mayoral control, someone shouted, “Dictator!” It was a brave stand.

Christine Quinn has a lot of ideas. She wants to extend the school day. She wants to do a system-wide study of success. She suggests using the money schools spend on quickly outdated textbooks for tablets. She wants to do a better job of distributing resources equitably, and the overuse of stop-and-frisk.

She is smart and has grit, but you know what?

She’s no Hillary Clinton, but once it was leaked that Bloomberg had urged Clinton to join the race, I couldn’t help but fantasize about it. Hillary would use her diplomatic skills to negotiate with the UFT. She would support principals and work to understand what they need to run good schools. She would use data responsibly and not become a prisoner of it.

That’s not going to happen, of course.

The former Secretary of State has the White House in her sights. But maybe this year’s mayoral candidates should start thinking like her.

Connie Schraft is PS 89’s parent coordinator. For questions and comments about Downtown schools, email connie @tribecatrib.com.