Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Nydia Negron (212) 788-9364
"With the signing of this bill, we are beginning to replace a culture of unaccountability with a culture of performance in the New York City public school system," said Mayor Giuliani. "I would like to thank Governor Pataki, the state legislature, Chancellor Crew and the Board of Education for joining in partnership to pass this landmark legislation."Another major achievement of the legislation, in combination with the Chancellor's outstanding efforts to reform the budget, is the initiation of school based budgeting. This will enable us to identify and prevent any misuse of funds, so that our education dollars can be spent on educating children. School based budgeting is something for which we have been fighting for the last five years."
Mayor Giuliani praised Chancellor Crew's commitment to remaking and improving the public school system.
"With this Chancellor, children, parents and City Hall finally have a person responsible for the education of our children and someone who is accountable for the performance of the system," he said. "He has assembled a top team of professionals and has already moved to take over failing schools, suspend corrupt boards and reform the budgeting process. With this legislation his efforts can be accelerated and expanded.""Just as we have become a national leader in fighting crime and reducing welfare, now we have the partnership and the leadership in place to become a national leader in education and restore New York City's public schools as the best school system in the United States," the Mayor concluded.
The legislation, which was passed during a Special Session of the State Legislature in December of last year, will: