On NY1's Inside City Hall, Mayor Bill de Blasio misstated the results of the previous administration's school closures. StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis is calling on the Mayor to issue an immediate retraction of those comments saying quote:
"Last night Mayor de Blasio claimed that closing failing schools doesn't work because it 'left kids in the lurch in all those transition years and a lot of those schools were not necessarily better.' Either Mayor de Blasio is lying to defend his own failed policies or he hasn't done his homework."
"In November, the nonpartisan Research Alliance for New York City Schools presented findings from a rigorous analysis of school closures under Mayor Bloomberg, showing that graduation rates improved by 15-points for students who left and attendance and graduation rates improved for those who remained during the transition. Mayor de Blasio has no evidence to support his failed policies and so he's attempting to tear down the proven successes of his predecessor."
"One such school that Mayor de Blasio highlighted as an example of the success of his renewal plan is Boys and Girls High School, but a close look reveals no such success. According the Department of Education's own website, 385 students are currently enrolled at the school, down from 648 in the 2014-15 school year and 940 in the year before that. Counseling out 60% of the students to cook the books does not make for a success, it should lead to an investigation."
"Mayor de Blasio could stand to learn from the effectiveness of Mayor Bloomberg's policies, rather than lying to make his own look successful. Now that he's been presented with the facts, Mayor de Blasio must correct his statements on the results of school closures under the prior administration."
CONTACT:
Michael Nitzky
