NEW YORK - On June 11th, Councilmember Bill de Blasio launched 20 Reasons in 20 Days, a countdown campaign to reauthorize a reformed version of Mayoral Control of City schools by June 30th, the day when New York City's school system automatically reverts to its former structure.

The Senate coup in Albany has taken the focus off of the important, pressing issue of Mayoral Control, and puts the future of New York City public school students and parents at risk. With the deadline looming overhead, de Blasio is expressing deep concern that a reformed version of Mayoral Control will not be reauthorized by Albany, despite numerous calls for changes such as greater inclusion of parents.

Each day until June 30th, de Blasio will present a different reason why reauthorizing a reformed version of Mayoral Control should be a priority in Albany.

So far de Blasio has presented the following:

Reason 20: Because in April 2009, hundreds of kindergarten parents in New York City were informed that there were "not enough seats available in the zoned schools at this time to accommodate all the zoned applicants" and, as a result, their children were wait listed at their own neighborhood schools.

Reason 19: Because the Department of Education instituted a school cell phone ban policy, ignoring outrage from public school parents who were concerned about communicating with their children in urgent situations.

Reason 18: Because in 2007 the Department of Education made a sudden decision to change school bus routes in the middle of winter, which left children throughout the City stranded.

Reason 17: Because last summer, at community education town halls hosted by de Blasio, surveys of public school parents found that 80% did not know how or where to voice concerns about their schools and 76% felt they had too little access to information about their schools.

Reason 16: Because less than 20% of New York City public school students classified as having a disability graduate from high school in four years, and far too many parents of Special Education children find themselves in court, arguing for the services their children are legally entitled to.

Reason 15: Because last year local school parents were outraged when their children could not get pre-kindergarten seats in the same schools as their older siblings, due to a new and confusing application process.

Reason 14: Because parents should have a defined role and be able to give meaningful input into school policies and programs before decisions are made.

Reason 13: Because according to an independent audit, the Department of Education failed to follow more than 200 orders to give disabled students extra services in a timely fashion.

Reason 12: Because in March a report by de Blasio's office found that Department of Education spent $57.3 million on unnecessary tests, courier services and an expanded press operation, including a seven person "Truth Squad." These funds could have been used to hire over 1,000 new teachers.

Reason 11: Because too many families with special needs children have been forced to go to court just to secure their right to a quality, public education.

Reason 10: Because while the general graduation rate has increased to over 50% over the past several years, the graduation rate for students learning English has dropped to under 25% over the same period.

Reason 9: Because in 2004 the Mayor fired members on the Panel on Educational Policy Board who disagreed with his plan to end social promotion

Reason 8: Because last year, the office of accountability grew by 8%, the legal department grew by 8%, the budget division grew by 22%, the human resources division jumped by 5%, and the office of the chancellor almost doubled its staff, to 16 people. Meanwhile, schools are forced to sacrifice their arts programs, after-school tutoring, and enrichment staff.

Reason 7: Because while the City had pledged to keep better track of students who leave the public school system without graduating, the Public Advocate's office found that the number of students who leave high school without graduating has actually increased over the past several years, going from 17.5% in 2000 to 20% in 2007.

Reason 6: Because the Department of Education spent $2 million in 2008 to assign schools a letter grade A through F using a flawed system that alarmed parents and discouraged schools by assigning low grades to higher performing schools with less room for improvement, and A's to some struggling schools. 

Reason 5: Because the Department of Education has been under-estimating the need for new school seats due to its flawed school utilization measurement system, the "blue book," which does not accurately reflect the cluster and specialty rooms that have been transformed into classrooms over the years.

Reason 4: Because last year, the Department of Education began piloting new assessment testing in English and Math for Kindergarten through Second grades, costing approximately $400,000. Those funds could be redirected to reducing K-2 class sizes to the City's stated target size of 20. Roughly 45% of Kindergarteners are in classes with 22 to 25 students, and nearly 4,000 first graders are in classes with 28 or more students.

Reason 3:  Because the Department of Education spent $80 million on ARIS, a database to analyze student test results. ARIS has encountered significant delays in functionality, remaining highly inaccessible to parents, teachers, and administrators through much of the school year. Many schools have been forced to spend money from their own budgets to purchase interim data tracking systems to ensure compliance with the data tracking requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Reason 2: Because according to an audit from the Comptroller's office, the Department of Education has given out approximately $300 million in no bid contracts since the Mayor has been in office.

Reason 1: Because over 1 million students rely on our New York City public schools to provide them with a safe, quality education that prepares them for a successful future.

"Public school parents cannot afford to be held hostage by Albany's dysfunction. I am outraged and concerned as one of the hundreds of thousands of public school parents depending on a reformed version of Mayoral Control passing in the next twenty days. We need our state senators to get back to work now, before time runs out," said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.