School District 15’s Community Education Council (CEC) lashed out at city Education Department (DOE) officials for abandoning “common civility.”
Since the end of mayoral control also stripped CECs of their legal standing, District 15’s council requested that it be recognized as the school board for Red Hook, Park Slope and Sunset Park. (Technically, school boards are back in power. But they can’t elect members until May 2010, which leaves parents without an advocacy group.)
District 15’s CEC claims that the DOE responded to its request on an education Web site — but failed to contact the council.
“While I understand that the press office has become the arbiter of all legal claims addressed to the chancellor, common civility would have dictated a formal reply actually directed to the council and/or its members regarding the resolution we sent to the chancellor and his general counsel,” said CEC member Jim Devor.
Andrew Jacob, a DOE spokesperson, was quoted as saying, “There is no provision in the law for the chancellor to appoint the CEC to act as a community school board.”
Jacob told this paper he was merely explaining the law and never said that schools Chancellor Joel Klein would not consider the CEC’s request.
This week, Klein’s general counsel Michael Best informed Devor, “We have considered the CEC’s request.We do not believe it is legally feasible.”
If the state legislature reauthorizes mayoral control in the coming days, CECs will likely be reinstated.
In the meantime, Klein sent a memo to the councils instructing them to continue to hold meetings and “act as if the CECs do exist,” members say.
