THOMPSON: DOE MUST BE MORE ACCOUNTABLE TO PARENTS AND THE PUBLIC
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today submitted testimony to the New York City Council's Committee on Education in support of reauthorizing mayoral control of the City's public schools, but recommended that the State should strengthen the law and incorporate stronger measures to ensure that the Department of Education (DOE) complies with its provisions.
"With it's top-down approach, the Bloomberg administration has sought to avoid debate and public scrutiny, while fundamental decisions regarding education reform have been made by executives with very little education background," Thompson said in the testimony.
In his testimony - which is available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov - Thompson called for greater accountability by the DOE in several critical areas.
"As former President of the Board of Education, I helped lay the groundwork for a more accountable management of our public school system that helped clear a path towards mayoral control," Thompson said. "In doing so, we prioritized two things that are currently missing from this administration's approach: transparency and parental involvement."
Thompson cited his recent study, which found that at least 10 different provisions of the State Education Law concerning Community Education Councils are not being followed by the DOE. Thompson also noted that many schools do not have functioning School Leadership Teams (SLTs). Education Law requires principles to solicit SLT input when writing a school-based budget, but Thompson said this frequently does not occur.
In his testimony, Thompson made recommendations to ensure that parents are given meaningful participation in the school governance process.
"Implementing these recommendations would go a long way towards giving parents the kind of role in the development and implementation of education policy that they deserve and to which they are largely entitled under current law," Thompson said.
Thompson stressed that while the DOE has trumpeted gains in test scores and City graduation rates, there are concerns over data manipulation. As such, Thompson recommended the creation of an independent auditing body to assess student achievement.
Thompson also addressed the Department's contracting process and recommended that the law be amended to require that the DOE be subject to the same procurement rules as other City agencies.
Finally, Thompson addressed the need for greater checks and balances at the heart of the City's education system. Thompson proposed that the current Panel for Education Policy be replaced with a nine-member school board drawn from a pool of nominees. This board would then be responsible for all matters of policy and serve as an appeal board for certain actions of the Chancellor.
"In conclusion, what I and so many others are suggesting is not an end to mayoral control, but a commitment to making it more transparent, more accountable, and more parent-friendly," Thompson said.
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