GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

In anticipation of tomorrow’s runoff election, which is likely to get a trickle of turnout, here’s a quick look at how the Democratic candidates for public advocate responded to GothamSchools’ education questionnaire.

Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn city councilman, and Mark Green, who was the public advocate during the Giuliani administration, have surprisingly little that they agree on, except that the city’s school system needs improvement.

De Blasio did not say where he stands on the growth of charter schools. Instead, he notes that the siting process needs to be improved and that teachers in charter schools should be able to unionize. Asked if the current statewide cap for charter schools needs to be changed, he writes only that the number should be evaluated.

Green, who is typically more blunt, states that he does not support curbing charter schools’ growth and that he believes the cap, which is currently set at 200, is “hindering” New York’s access to federal education dollars.

“We should continue with the experiment of charter schools and continue to raise the cap modestly in order to maximize on the flow of federal funds to support New York City educational initiatives,” he writes.

Neither candidate is eager to see Chancellor Joel Klein return for round three. Green is quite clear: Klein should voluntarily step down and make way for a new chancellor. De Blasio writes that he disagrees with many of Klein’s reforms, but doesn’t say whether Klein should stay or go.

De Blasio writes that limited parental involvement is the single greatest problem facing the city’s schools. In a bullet-point list, he names the various ways he plans to make more data available to parents, as well as improve the Department of Education’s communication with parents.

Green says that the city’s first priority should be reducing class size.  He notes that suburban class sizes are significantly smaller and that the city’s goal should be to have no more than 20 students in each class.