|
THE WEEK OF JANUARY 17, 2002
|
||
 |
|
Ideas come and go in the City of New York. Some of them work, while others don’t. However, politicians are notorious for letting certain initiatives continue on even when they no longer have any positive effect.
So it is with community school boards. With great fanfare in 1969, the State Legislature decentralized the behemoth called the New York City Board of Education, and created 32 local school boards.
Holding a special election that May, voters were asked to select nominees from their community to voluntarily represent school children and give parents a bigger voice in the day-to-day operations of public grammar and junior high schools.
The concept seemed like a good one, but over the years the realization of it developed into another political boondoggle—one that serves very little purpose, other than providing a stage for the various players who have political aspirations.
For decades, this newspaper has covered community school board meetings in several Queens school districts, and has observed the deterioration that has taken place.
The sessions are long and laborious, yet it seems that nothing concrete ever gets accomplished.
As time has passed, voter turnout has become a pathetic joke, with less than 2.5 percent of registered voters taking part in the process.
There were times when certain school boards were suspended because of suspected wrongdoing. Even so, it wasn’t enough to rouse residents from their apathy. Attendance remains poor at public meetings.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has indicated that he will lobby the State Legislature to give the mayor control over the central Board of Education and abolish the local boards.
This was something that former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had on his agenda before leaving office.
A major responsibility of the local school boards involved the appointment of community superintendents. But in 1996, the boards were stripped of this function, although it hasn’t stopped some local board members from trying to wield undeserved power in the process.
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Adele Cohen has circulated a memo telling Assembly colleagues that she plans to introduce a bill to do away with school boards. She is looking for a co-sponsor, and her comrades-in-arms should be lining up to put their names on this much-needed change.
The New York City public schools system could certainly benefit from a complete overhaul.
A good start would be the elimination of the dead wood called community school boards.