The Numbers Are In, Mayoral Control Is Out: Community Testifies Against Mayoral Control

PLEASE NOTE: This article is under construction. It will be updated often, so please check back as first-hand testimonies are added. Thanks! —R-IMC

With all the hoopla in the media regarding yesterday's spectacle of a "public hearing", it's important for those who were not able to attend (after all, most people work on Friday mornings and/or afternoons or have other daytime obligations) to understand clearly what actually went down, what was said, and perhaps most importantly, who said it.

Based on close listening and note-taking throughout the first six hours of the seven-hour forum, here are some interesting numbers I recorded on the subject of "who said what."

Of the 43 people I witnessed speak, only twelve spoke in favor of the legislation. But what's most interesting is the fact that of those twelve who spoke in favor of the legislation, six were elected officials/politicians (R. Duffy, C. Elliott, A. Williams, L. Giess, C. Conklin, and P. Haney), and three were affluent CEOs (S. Parker, J. Klein, and K. Bennett). Only three community members and/or parents or RCSD students, with no financial and/or political ties to mayoral control (Felix Jacobs, Joshua Bauroth, and a woman whose name I did not catch) spoke in favor of the legislation.

On the other hand, 31 spoke against the legislation. Of those 31, eight were elected officials/politicians (M. Evans, W. Powell, V. White, D. Little, J. Viola, J. Siegle, A. Urbanski, and a man representing D. DiClemente). 23 community members and parents (none of whom, to my knowledge, are millionaire CEOs) spoke against the mayoral control legislation. (To be fair, these 23 were: C. Richardson, J Greco, E. Weinzler Francesco, R Cox-Cooper, H. Eagle, J. Pendergrass, R. Adams, H. Wilkerson, A. Jones, T. Adams, C. M. Tillman, D. Drmacich, J. Bello, K. Caldwell, L. Thomas, H. Davis, C. Edes, R. Acuff, L. Bestram, M. Brown, B. Cannan, H. Ibrahim, and K. Fritz.)

If anyone has knowledge of more who spoke in favor of (or against) the legislation after about 4pm (when I left), please respond to this article, and it will be updated.

Now basic logic tells us that the number of people speaking for or against something is not an absolute indication of how "good" or "bad" that something is; and a total number of 26 community members and parents is far too small a number to indicate absolutely how the broader Rochester community feels about the legislation; perhaps this number is only an indication of how poorly planned this "public hearing" was—open to those who could shuffle their schedules to make the Friday morning/afternoon appointment.

However, what these numbers certainly can tell us—and what Catherine Nolan of the state Assembly Education Committee should be taking back with her to Albany—is that an overwhelming majority of community members and parents who were present at the forum spoke in opposition to this legislation.

Of course, I would take this a step further to include in her report the thousands of signatures of city residents signed to an ongoing anti-mayoral control petition (initiated by the Community Education Task Force) that were hand-delivered to Assemblywoman Nolan yesterday; as well as the 1,138 members of the growing "Stop Mayoral Control of Rochester City Schools!" Facebook group; the numerous public events that have been held with (and without) the mayor present, at which the sentiment has been repeatedly and overwhelmingly opposed to mayoral control; and the countless public rallies, pickets, and street marches that have taken place since Mayor Duffy first announced his bid for mayoral control back in late December, 2009.

While it is clear that people on both sides of the mayoral control "debate" understand the serious need for radical and timely urban education reform, it should also be crystal clear to any sensible observer of Friday's event (as well as those that have occurred in this city since December) that people in this city oppose not only the structural changes outlined in this specific legislation, but also the very philosophy—the concept—of mayoral control.

We have carried out our end of the bargain—far from finished as we are—of beginning to organize the masses of city residents who desire authentic, widespread, and inclusive education reform in this city, and who understand mayoral control to be the antithesis to the kind of reform that is needed. We can only hope that those in Albany whose job it is to represent us, do so honestly and accurately.

Read the Testimonies! br Elizabeth Brown , Carrie Peetluk , Crystal Johnson , Tim Adams, Lori Thomas, Rev. C. Michael Tillman, Sr., Mary Adams, Ricardo Adams, Chris Edes, br br Previous R-IMC Coverage: THE EXPERTS SPEAK: Parents' and Students' Perspectives on Mayoral Control | Community Asks Duffy, "Why Avoid Open Debate?" | Students March Against Mayoral Control | Indy TV #33: Community Education Task Force on Proposed Mayoral Takeover of Schools | Opponents of Mayoral Control Picket David Gantt's Office | Community Education Task Force Press Conference Opposing Mayoral Control of RCSD | Stop Mayoral Control! Indymedia is calling for any of those who either attended Friday's public hearing or submitted written testimony to share their experience and/or written testimony with us to be posted as further reading to be included at the end of this article. Please email any testimony to tim.adams85@gmail.com and it will be posted here.