The United Federation of Teachers is urging tighter controls on the New York City mayor’s ability to shape education policy in the nation’s largest school district, the Associated Press reports.
The union wants state legislation that would reduce from eight to five the number of members on the Panel for Educational Policy that are appointed by the mayor. The panel has 13 seats, and it has to date largely rubber-stamped Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s school reforms.
The city has had mayoral control since 2002, and the UFT was among initial supporters. But it has come under criticism from internal political parties, among others, for that position.