2 MEN WITH NO PRINCIPALS
School heads: Blas, Carranza must hand DOE control to state
The city principals union demanded on Sunday that Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza abdicate control of the public-school system to the state over their handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
The move by the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators came only two days before the scheduled start of in-classroom learning for K-8 students across the five boroughs — and was just the latest sign of chaos for the city’s reopening of public schools amid the pandemic.
The union said it was taking the unprecedented step of seeking state intervention partly because there are more than 200 elementary-school principals who still need a total of 1,200 teachers before on-site K-8 instruction begins on Tuesday.
And instead of trying to deal with the staffing crisis, district higher-ups have pushed principals to lie to help them cover up the issue, the union claimed.
District superintendents have “verbally pressured [principals] to falsely report that their staffing needs are already met after they requested additional staff due to safety concerns,” the CSA said in its resolution calling for state intervention.
The CSA has “declared a unanimous vote of ‘No Confidence’ in Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza due to their failure to lead New York City through the safe and successful reopening of schools,” says the resolution, which the union’s executive board unanimously passed Sunday.
“CSA calls on Mayor de Blasio to cede mayoral control of the Department of Education for the remainder of this health crisis and for Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza to seek the immediate intervention of the New York State Education Department.”
The union appeared furious over Friday’s announcement of a last-minute deal between the de Blasio administration and the city teachers union to allow scores more educators to do their jobs from home.
The head of the CSA said that there was an already severe classroom staffing shortage and that the union had been kept in the dark about the pact.
“We had no knowledge that MOU [memorandum of understanding] was signed and about to be released,’’ CSA President Mark Cannizzaro griped to reporters on Sunday.
“We were disappointed that the mayor and chancellor didn’t share the agreement with us before it was out there.”
It was just the latest complaint from educators about the de Blasio administration, which has been criticized for failing to make decisions faster about school reopenings and for announcing plans only to change them later.
City parents said on Sunday that while they sympathized with the principals’ frustration, the union’s timing couldn’t be worse.
“I happen to agree that the schools would be more competently run in state hands.
“But then I’d trust Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog over the people running it now,” said Justin, a father of two children about to start hybrid learning at PS 303 in Forest Hills, Queens.
But, Justin added, “The problem is the timing. Why make this demand now, two days before in-person classes are set to begin?
“We’re stuck with these two jamooks [de Blasio and Carranza] for now, so for the sake of the kids, let’s work with them, not against them.”
Niesha Jordan, whose 7-year-old daughter is about to start in-person
learning at PS 182 in Jamaica, Queens, said, “I hear the anger of these principals. But please, don’t drop the bomb now.”
“Just let my child go back to school,” Jordan said. “She’s been out of school since March. She wants to see her friends, see her teachers. That’s all I care about . . . Let’s just move forward and see how it goes.”
A city Department of Education source said that the state would be very unlikely to intervene and that de Blasio was not going to rescind mayoral control of the schools.
“This is just more of a statement than anything,” the source said of the CSA resolution.
Cannizzaro stopped short of suggesting principals would strike if their demand is not met.
“We’re right now in the middle of a pandemic. Our kids need us,” Cannizzaro told reporters.
Neither City Hall nor Gov. Cuomo’s office responded to requests for comment from The Post.
High-school students are set to be allowed to return to classrooms on Thursday.
Nearly 50 percent of all parents of city public-school children have opted for online-learning only.
Asked on Sunday about the CSA resolution, city DOE spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said, “For the past six months, we’ve worked with our labor partners to navigate completely uncharted waters and accomplish our shared goal of serving students this fall.
“We’ll continue this work to guarantee a safe, health and successful opening for all.
“This week, more kids will be safely sitting in New York City classrooms than in any other major American city — a testament to city leadership and our educators’ commitment to their students, and the importance of in-person education.’