The city's school system struggles with declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism due to one-party governance that lacks accountability for student performance. Zohran Mamdani proposes ending mayoral control, advocating for collaboration among stakeholders in education. However, this approach fails to recognize the complexities of the system and the historical failures of decentralization. With a budget exceeding $41 billion and twice the national per-pupil spending, political influences perpetuate a lack of accountability on education outcomes. Current leaders must leverage power to prioritize children’s needs effectively.
One-party rule in Albany and City Hall has caused much of this, with legislators throwing money at the system with no guardrails in place to hold schools accountable for student performance.
Zohran Mamdani has the simplest education platform of the remaining candidates. The Democrat intends to push 'an end to mayoral control,' envisioning 'a system instead in which parents, students, educators and administrators work together to create the school environments in which students and families will best thrive.'
Albany lawmakers have tried and failed to create a system in which families, educators and administrators could work together for children's betterment since the onset of so-called decentralization in 1969.
The system's budget is huge, more than $41 billion, with per-pupil spending twice the national average.
#education-reform #school-accountability #new-york-city-schools #political-influence #mayoral-control
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