Mayor Adams Holds Rally for Mayoral Accountability for NYC Schools

MAYOR ADAMS, CHANCELLOR BANKS JOINED BY UNION LEADERS IN SUPPORT OF MAYORAL ACCOUNTABILITY

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David Banks, and union leaders and members today urged the New York State Legislature to extend mayoral accountability for New York City schools and its nearly 1 million students. Representatives of District Council 37 (DC37), Hotel Trades Council (HTC), 32BJ SEIU, Local 372, and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) joined the mayor and chancellor in support.

Mayor Adams highlighted the numerous successes of mayoral responsibility, including the launch of Pre-K for All, a more than 20 percent increase in graduation rates, ensuring every school receives 100 percent Fair Student Funding, and coordinating the massive inter-agency COVID-19 response. If the state does not take action by June 30th, control of city schools would revert to the decentralized system of 32 school boards that existed prior to 2002 — a system that proved vulnerable to politics, corruption, and bureaucracy.

“Continuing mayoral accountability will benefit every one of the nearly 1 million New York City students and will allow us to make transformative changes in the education system to address systemic inequities that plagued public schools for years,” said Mayor Adams. “Mayoral accountability will also provide parents with certainty as we prepare for the summer and the following school year. We look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Albany to ensure our schools continue moving in the right direction.”

“Mayoral accountability made it possible to put mental health services in every school, open the largest summer enrichment program ever, and find innovative ways to respond to the needs of our families and students,” DOE Chancellor David Banks. “Whether it is responding to a crisis or providing the supports for our children's bold futures, it is clear that our students, schools, and communities deserve to have the stability that a quick renewal provides, and I look forward to continuing to work with the legislature on how to best serve future generations of New Yorkers.”

Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks have outlined a bold agenda for New York City Schools that includes expanded opportunities for summer learning; a renewed focus on literacy, screenings, and early interventions for dyslexia; and providing every student with a pathway to a good paying career. Mayoral accountability is essential to driving these and other new initiatives that will help address the impacts of the pandemic on learning and puts all students on the path to success.

City Hall Steps

Lower Manhattan

May 9, 2022