Mayor Miner Considering Takover of SCSD

By Tarryn Lael Simmons

Stephanie Miner, the newly elected mayor of Syracuse, says she could be making some serious changes to the city's school district. There is a trend catching on in New York State that involves mayors assuming control over their respective school boards and Miner is looking at this option, according to her transition team report (released a week after taking office). Miner has stated that the Syracuse city school system is producing exceptional results and all options are being considered to drastically improve the city's quality of education.

Miner has been in talks with Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, who effectively won control over his school system after legislation was passed in 2002. He has been praised for the dramatic turnaround in a school system that was once divided into 32 mini-school systems, some which were corrupt and ineffective. A system wide curriculum was introduced to bring standardized and equal education to the district. However, there are some who oppose Bloomberg and say community and parental involvement has diminished with the mayoral takeover. There have also been complaints about the lack of checks and balances of the Mayor and his elected board of educational officials.

Miner has also met with Mayor Robert Duffy of Rochester, who is aggressively seeking power over his city's school board. During a City Hall meeting on January 15, Duffy stated that Governor David Patterson is expected to introduce a bill before the end of this month that will give the mayor control over the Rochester public school system. Duffy's plans are meeting strong opposition from parents as well as the Rochester Teachers Association who charge that such a move would stifle public input and parental involvement - much like what has happened in the New York City public school system under Mayor Bloomberg.

Although mayoral control of schools in Syracuse would require approval from the state Legislature and governor to go into effect, the city's citizens need to be aware of the implications of a shift in the governance of public schools.

CNY Vision contacted Syracuse 20/20, a non-partisan, not-for-profit coalition of Central New York business and community leaders that works to improve the quality of life and government in Syracuse. They propose the following list of Pros and Cons of a mayoral takeover in Syracuse:
Pros
· Promote gains in accountability and efficiency through increased testing and control of personnel operations
· Clear goals and accountability resting with the mayor as opposed to dissent of school boards and appointed superintendents
· Better coordination of other agencies in terms of child welfare, safety, public health, recreation, job training, economic development and overall community development strategies
· Ability to hire chief executive officers from outside of educational systems
· Increased fiscal stability
· More political participation because of broader voter participation in mayoral elections
· Advances idea of a progressive community
· Potential for gaining political capital
Cons
· Business approach does not recognize differences in public personnel and public service systems
· Mayor's power is diluted through necessary delegation
· Schools are intense people centered organizations quite unlike treating sewage
· Too reliant on ideals of individual mayor
· Better public oversight due to open school board meetings
· Results of mayoral control are unimpressive when matched to national assessment tests
· Results of outside CEO's uneven when matched to professional educators leading districts

The school board currently consists of elected members that represent their communities, and their positions could be effectively dissolved with a mayoral take over. Syracuse school board President Laurie Menkin says the board is open to discussion. The ability of the school board and city hall to work together is a problem, but Syracuse Teachers Association Executive Vice President for Labor Relations, Kevin Ahern does not believe mayoral takeover is the answer.

Amidst much debate, Stephanie Miner says she is not wedded to the idea of taking control of Syracuse school systems, but is considering the option. It is important for all organizations to weigh in on this issue so that education in Syracuse does not take a back seat to city politics and the bottom line.

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