Malcolm Smith is downplaying a Post story saying that his conference was prepared to gut mayoral control and recommend reconstituting the Board of Education to oversee the city's public schools.
Smith's spokesman, Austin Shafran, emailed this statement from Senator Martin Dilan, chairman of the committee that produced the report containing the recommendations:
“Recently an internal report was made public that summarized the testimony received over the course of several months regarding Mayoral Control of New York City schools. This report does not reflect the views of the Senate Democratic Majority, nor does it reflect the findings and views of all the members of the task force who participated in the seven public hearings held across New York City. This report reflects my own findings as co-chair of the Task Force on New York City School Governance. It is a draft that serves only to outline public response and recommended action.”
Bloomberg, and even the White House, have urged state lawmakers to renew the law, which is set to expire later this year.
