Bloomberg Optimistic On Eve Of School Control Vote
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday he expects the State Senate to give him control of city schools again this week, even though Democrats are insisting on several changes.
The main change, which has the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union, calls for the creation of a state commission on public safety in city schools. This comes after complaints from students and state senators that the schools are too heavily guarded.
Other amendments call for creating a citywide council on the arts, and an act to amend the education law.
The proposal has the backing of Democratic Conference leader John Sampson, but the mayor says he doesn't see any reason to add amendments.
"He understands the need to continue education reform and we've tried to assure him that his concerns are things that we'll certainly think about," Bloomberg said. "If he's got some good ideas, we will try to do that. I talked to him about that a couple of weeks ago, saying, 'Look John, pass this bill the way it is and if you've got some great ideas, we don't need a piece of legislation.' Down the road we'll try to do other things. But fundamentally, this is the right thing."
Control of city schools reverted back to the Board of Education on July 1st when the law expired during the senate stalemate.