Mayoral Control and Charter Schools: Pawns on the Chessboard of Politics
Back in the eighties a major issue in Albany was the death penalty; Republicans and DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) supported a death penalty law opposed by progressive Democrats. After a few years a death penalty law passed in both houses and Governor Cuomo pere vetoed the bill; the legislature overrode the veto – New York State had a death penalty law.
A few years later a Republican operative bemoaned the passage, “It was stupid, we gave up a great election issue.”
Politics is about gaining advantage, the Republicans “intimation” that Obama was not born in the nation, constant subtle racism, Bengazi, e-mails, etc., have nothing to do with policy, in fact, the only policy issue – “repeal and replace” of Obamacare, is turning out to be a major negative for Republicans.
The consistent attacks worked, a Republican president, although for the party insiders the wrong Republican and both houses of Congress.
In New York State linking mayoral control to charter schools has enabled the Senate Republicans to collect substantial campaign dollars from charter school supporters across the nation by forcing reluctant Democrats to support charter school issues in order to retain mayoral control.
This year the Assembly Democrats taking a firm line.
Both houses of the state legislature, the Assembly and the Senate will adjourn on Wednesday, June 21st.
If mayoral control is not renewed New York City will revert to the prior management model – decentralization. A seven-member school board: one appointed by each of the five borough presidents and two by the mayor and 40 elected school boards, the elections would be held in May, 2018. (See Mayoral Control and Charter Schools: Pawns on the Chessboard of Politics | Ed In The Apple