Brian Laird on W.N.C. We'll talk now about one of the issues facing the New York State legislature and every parent of a school-age child right now as well as every public

school teacher in New York City.

The legislature is considering whether and how to renew

mayoral control of the New York City public schools.

The roots of this issue go back more than 20 years when the mayor of New York actually did not have the power to settle out of education policy because control was all split up on the old Board of Education, which had both Mayoral and Borough President

appointees, and then also there were 32 elected local school boards in the

neighborhoods around the city, which also could make policy and were not

under the control of the mayor. Because of corruption on some local school boards

and failure to educate enough kids sufficiently overall,

the politics gradually shifted to where the state accepted

mayor of control, because as they saw it,

finally someone would be truly accountable for educational outcomes in the city.

So it took effect in 2002 when Michael Bloomberg was mayor, earlier mayors had wanted it

too. In 2012 2012 when Bloomberg was still mayor

he said this about mayoral control to a national conference of mayors this is

about a minute and a half of Bloomberg in 2012.

Now the attacks on education by ideologues on the right and on the left must be met

and must be fended off by the sensible center.

And that is the people that you are here with today, the mayors.

Mayors are pragmatists and problem solvers, not ideologues.

They don't have the luxury of being on both sides of an issue.

They have to be explicit as to where they stand.

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