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In 2002, the NYS Legislature passed sweeping reform of New York City's schools called the Mayoral Control Bill. This law addressed what most had agreed was a major problem; the school system had become a collection of turf wars with no one accountable for the effective operation of the entire system. The cornerstone of the legislation was to place that accountability for the system's effectiveness in one arena...the office of the mayor. The law also included a sunset date of June, 2009, that would provide a chance to review its results, and then take up the issue of the law's renewal.
Since that time, many improvements have, indeed, taken place in the schools' performance, and now the review of those improvements has begun.
To that end, the Assembly has scheduled a series of 5 hearings across the City so that parents' voices can be heard on this very important issue. The first hearing is going to be held this Thursday at 10:00 AM in Queens at the Queens Borough Hall Meeting Room 213, located at 120-55 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens.
 I am working with Learn NY, an organization that wants those voices to be heard, and the Assembly hearings are the perfect venue.
One of the issues that I hear a lot in this discussion is that this law and its renewal effort is somehow attached to THIS mayor and THIS chancellor. The law is about accountability and the mayor's office...whoever the mayor may be...and there will be other mayors of NYC.
To find out more about Mayoral Control and share your stories, you can go to the Learn NY web site. To find out about the dates, times and locations of the hearings, as well as download the public hearing reply form so that you can testify, you can one-stop-shop here.
If you are a parent and you would like to attend with other interested parents, you can sign up here.
This issue effects the education of millions of children and, as a result, is going to be front and center as we get closer to the June renewal date. Please, educate yourself and let your voice be heard.
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