City Education an ‘Embarrassment,’ Says Stringer

A new report accuses the Department of Education (DOE) of a history of “mismanagement and neglect around training, support, and elections.”
City Education an ‘Embarrassment,’ Says Stringer
Zachary Stieber
10/3/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img class="size-medium wp-image-1796951" title="Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer speaks at a press conference announcing a released report calling for an overhaul of parent engagement in New York's school system, in his Lower Manhattan office.  (Zack Stieber/The Epoch Times)" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/ucatioCouncil-3.jpg" alt="Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer speaks at a press conference announcing a released report calling for an overhaul of parent engagement in New York's school system, in his Lower Manhattan office.  (Zack Stieber/The Epoch Times)" width="575"/></a>
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer speaks at a press conference announcing a released report calling for an overhaul of parent engagement in New York's school system, in his Lower Manhattan office.  (Zack Stieber/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—A new report accuses the Department of Education (DOE) of a history of “mismanagement and neglect around training, support, and elections.”

“This is a citywide embarrassment,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer at a press conference held at his Lower Manhattan office. “We are pushing parents away from the schools without bringing them into the process, and it shows; every day a child goes to school and their parents don’t feel connected to the process.”

In 2003, as the school system shifted to mayoral control, New York state created Community District Education Councils to give parents and guardians a chance to influence and take part in shaping the course of educational policies.

Relationships between the DOE and parents continued to deteriorate, and in the latest parental education elections, just over 5,000 voters turned out. This was barely a fifth of the votes cast during the 2009 elections.

Ballot errors, general confusion, and mysterious run-off elections were common problems. One candidate who originally garnered 11 votes found herself replaced in a run-off election by candidates who originally had zero votes.

Chancellor Dennis Walcott postponed the elections on May 12.

A parental task force was formed to find what went wrong and see whether the system could be fixed. The 63-member team from the Community Education Councils (CEC) found 98 percent of all respondents to a survey thought that the election process could be improved.

An “unprecedented” report was put together by Stringer and fellow borough presidents Ruben Diaz Jr., Marty Markowitz, and Helen Marshall, who teamed up with parents and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

According to Stringer, “Our elected officials are willing to stand by the parents and the product.”

Shino Tanikawa, president of CEC, District 2, said it was “hugely gratifying to have the elected officials actually come to our rescue,” adding “What we want really to see is a true partnership between parents and the DOE and the elected officials, so that we really can reform the education system that we have in this city.”

The problem, according to the report, rests in the voting process.

There is an advisory vote, which a DOE employee said gives the parents the opportunity to act as the electoral college, while CEC District Co-president Isaac Carmignani said it’s similar to a straw poll. The vote doesn’t produce concrete results.

Then there is the selector vote, where Parent Teacher Association (PTA) presidents, vice presidents, and treasurers vote for who will become CEC members. This is the actual vote.

“Many parents came to the advisory vote thinking they were voting for the people who were going to get into office, to know that they were voting for someone who was going to vote for someone else was confusing,” explained Carmignani.

The report makes six recommendations, three short-term and three long-term, including removing the DOE from overseeing CECs, abolishing the advisory vote, and replacing the voting system with a traditional “one-parent, one-vote model.”

The DOE said in an email that the voting model is state law, and replacing it is not in their power. It adds that while the advisory vote is not required by state law, it “allows parents to voice their preference to the selectors.”

They had no comment on the possible removal from overseeing CECs.

The education department is in line for a fresh start, and Stringer noted the July appointment of Jesse Mojica to a DOE executive director position. He stated, “Jesse is somebody who understands these issues and the parental perspective.”