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PJ Kim (image via campaign website)

Candidate: PJ Kim

Political Party: Democratic

Running for: City Council, District 1, Manhattan

Most recent job: Vice President of Programs at SingleStop USA

Website: www.pjkim.com

1. Have you been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers?  No

2. Have you received campaign contributions from the following education-related political action committees?

No Democrats for Education Reform

No United Federation of Teachers

No Council of School Supervisors and Administrators

No New York Education Voters

No Educational Justice PAC

3. Do you have children in the public school system?  No

4. Do you support programs like Teaching Fellows and Teach for America? Yes

5. Do you support efforts to stop the growth of charter schools? No

6. Would you preserve school report cards as they are now? Yes

7. Do you believe test scores should be a factor in determining whether teachers receive tenure? Yes

8. Do you support the 2009 law giving the mayor control of the public schools?
a.     Yes, I like the current school governance system.
b.     Yes, but there should be more checks and balances limiting the mayor’s power
c.     No, it gives mayor too much power
d.     No, I would like to return to a Board of Education model

9. What letter grade would you give the public schools in your district right now?
B+ Incredibly dedicated principals, teachers and parents but there are not enough schools in District 1 to accommodate the growing number of students.

10. In the last eight years, have the schools in your district improved, stayed the same, or worsened? How?
The state of public education in District 1 has worsened because there are not enough schools to accommodate our rapidly growing residential community.

11. Do you support Joel Klein remaining chancellor of the city’s schools?  No
Joel Klein is the longest serving New York City Schools Chancellor in history. While he has honorably served and brought new talent into education, he has also personally become a lightning rod for criticism and controversy. I believe that new leadership will be helpful in moving forward and depersonalizing the education debate. I think the next Mayor should appoint a Chancellor with both business acumen AND a leadership background in education in order to build a broad-based coalition for reform.

12. What’s an appropriate cap for charter schools, or should they exist at all (the current cap is 200 statewide)?
I do not believe that there should be a cap for charter schools. The fact that there is a waiting list of an estimated 50,000 students to enter a NYC charter school demonstrates that demand exceeds supply. Charter schools can be laboratories of innovation with excellent results as long as we can maintain transparency and accountability. But part of this surging demand also demonstrates that many non-charters are not meeting expectations and we should do all we can to support and fix the existing school system, which will continue to serve the vast majority of students.

13. What’s the best way to improve a struggling public school?
The best way to improve a struggling school is by respectfully working with all stakeholders — teachers, parents, students, and administrators. Demonizing and passing blame solely on one group sabotages any improvement process. We must continue to attract talented and passionate teachers, make parental involvement meaningful and accessible, be sensitive to the individual needs of students, and allow for innovative forms of school governance and leadership. Any reform that does not respect these critical pieces will not be sustainable.

14. What’s the single greatest problem facing the schools in your district and what specific policy would you propose to combat it?
The single greatest problem with the schools in District 1 is that there are not enough of them. Our district is the fastest growing residential area of New York City and the need for more schools is becoming increasingly apparent. Classrooms are overcrowded, there are waiting lists for kindergartens, and parents are frustrated by the lack of clarity and choice in the enrollment process. We should ensure that any future development take into account its effects on