| Public’s
Turn to Have Say on School Board Reform
By Assemblyman Steven Sanders
A
very important part of the landmark New York City School Governance
Reform enacted into law earlier this year, will be played out
during the next few months. As the State Legislature gave greater
authority and accountability over our schools to the Mayor and
his hand picked Chancellor, the law also envisions public participation
in issues dealing with local community representation. How local
school boards should be constituted and with what powers is the
question that the public will be asked to weigh in on.
Although the law abolishes the current community school boards
as of June 30, 2003, the law also requires public hearings to
help determine what should replace these school boards so that
we may begin a new era of genuine and effective community representation
and input on local school issues.
I am pleased to have been named as co-chair of a special task
force appointed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno, to conduct public hearings and develop
a plan for new community representation to be submitted to the
State Legislature and Governor.
The other co-chair of this task force is Terri Thomson, who also
served for several years as a distinguished member of the New
York City Board of Education representing Queens.
We and the other eighteen members of this task force, representing
every borough of the City, are determined to listen carefully
to public comment and then formulate a coherent proposal to maximize
community involvement in local education issues.
The schedule for these hearings are: Tuesday, December 10 in Manhattan;
Thursday, December 12 in Queens; Thursday, December 19 in the
Bronx; Monday, January 6 on Staten Island and Thursday, January
16 in Brooklyn.
For more details concerning the location and times of these hearings
call (212) 312-1464. It is anticipated that there will be a daytime
and an evening session for each hearing so as to make these hearings
as accessible as possible to as many persons who may wish to testify.#
Steven
Sanders is chairman of the NYS Assembly’s Committee on Education.
You can contact him at 201 East 16th Street, New York 10003 (e-mail:
sanders@assembly.state.ny.us) or phone him at (212) 979-9696.
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express
consent of the publisher. © 2002.
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