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As Mayor Eric Adams’ term winds down, the Panel for Educational Policy that’s supposed to be the tool for mayoral control of the schools has gone rogue, both exceeding its proper authority and trying to duck responsibility when it comes to ensuring continued bus service for public schoolchildren.
The PEP was at it again last week, refusing to even consider approval of new long-term school-bus contracts negotiated by City Hall, and only OK’ing one-month extensions in hopes that a new mayor elected Tuesday will signal a desire to reward special interests at the kids’ expense.
The long-term contract put forth by City Hall would enable the bus operators to get the financing needed to move towards electrifying school-bus fleets as state law requires, and to modernize their fleets to ensure adequate service.
But the PEP rebels are holding out to preserve seniority rights for bus drivers that massively drive up costs — and were actually ruled illegal by state courts back in the Bloomberg years — in hopes that the Legislature will make them legal.
This episode shows how easy it will be for a Mayor Mamdani to let go of control of the school system even without formally losing mayoral control: Just let the members go rogue, and the special interests will happily take over.
It’s one more reason voters need to deny Zohran Mamdani a victory on Tuesday.
English (US)