New boss, same as old boss

If you liked the last four years in New York City’s school system, expect to like the next four. If you didn’t, you’re probably out of luck. Monday, at his first public appearance with Mayor de Blasio, Richard Carranza, set to take over the toughest job in American education after 18 months in Houston and four years leading San Francisco’s schools, sounds awfully lot like outgoing chancellor Carmen Fariña.

Which is to say, he seems set to follow, and not challenge, de Blasio’s instincts.

In contrast to Miami’s more independent-minded Alberto Carvalho, who left de Blasio at the altar last week, Carranza speaks little about accountability. Little about alternatives for families. Little about results, measured through state test scores.

Lots about equity and joy and funding, all of which are well and good — and insufficient to attack still-savage inequalities.

Asked about attacking segregation in a deeply divided district, Carranza toed the City Hall line, saying schools can only do so much.

When the subject turned to schools where kids struggle to read and do math, Carranza proclaimed himself impressed by de Blasio’s Renewal Schools program. Chalk it up to being respectful to the new boss; the results of that $600 million experiment are decidedly mixed.

Carranza begrudgingly used the word “underperforming,” only to proclaim he would never let it pass his lips again. His preferred term: “historically underserved” — which is to say, he will always emphasize failures to invest money.

That might make sense in Houston, where expenditures hover around $10,000 per pupil. The dog doesn’t hunt nearly as well here, where we spend about $22,000 per pupil.

On the plus side, Carranza says he is open to fully embracing high-performing charter schools. He declared himself “pro-really good schools,” whether they are run by the school district or by independent non-profits.

He’ll be measured not by rhetoric but by results.