Congrats to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chancellor Joel Klein, and thousands and thousands of administrators and teachers for taking home the Broad Prize at yesterday's ceremonies in Washington.
In their remarks, both Bloomberg and UFT President Randi Weingarten highlighted the importance of raising taxes in getting the job done. Not sure what my point is, but I thought that was an interesting concession. In Bloomberg's case, he noted the link between raising taxes and the 40-something percent raises awarded to teachers since he took control of the NYC schools in 2002. Weingarten referred to improvements to the level of basic resources in schools in recent years.
In light of what we're now seeing from Washington, DC in Mayor Fenty, it seems that a strong case is being built that giving control of big city school systems to mayors can (and in many cases should) result in education becoming a top priority during budget season. And when you have a mayor whose reputation is on the line, that additional spending has the potential to be more closely aligned with results than garden variety reform by cash infusion.
But if you're not convinced, perhaps we could try a serious pilot experiment in a place like Newark, N.J. What say you?