Updated 04/24/2012 11:44 PM
NY1 Exclusive: Bloomberg's Command Of The School System Gets Low Grades From Voters
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to be known as the "education mayor," but an exclusive NY1/Marist college poll has found that following school closures and teacher misconduct scandals, Bloomberg's rating on education is heading south. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report. The grades are in, and a majority of New Yorkers would not give Mayor Michael Bloomberg a passing one on education.
According to an exclusive NY1/Marist College poll, 56 percent of New York City's registered voters disapprove of how Mayor Bloomberg is handling public schools. 34 percent approve and 10 percent are unsure.
Bloomberg's numbers have not been that low since Cathie Black was at the helm of the Education Department early last year. They also come as Bloomberg tries to shut down more schools in a single year than he ever has before.
"Right now what we are seeing is a general dissatisfaction with the way the schools are run, with the quality of education, with the quality of the schools and with the mayor's policies and how he is handling education," says NY1/Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff. "This is not a pretty picture by any stretch of the imagination."
It does not end there. About 65 percent of households with a child in the public school system want the next mayor to change course on education.
Some parents hand out mixed reviews.
"But there's major problems. I think of how dysfunctional the public school system is," says one local parent.
"I don't know much about the mayor's point of view, but I think the school is excellent," says another.
Bloomberg has said he wants to frame his legacy as the education mayor, but that might be a tough sell. About 62 percent of adults want the next mayor to take education in a different direction, 27 percent say it should stay the same and 11 percent are unsure.
The mayor's rating is also rubbing off on the city's schools chancellor: Dennis Walcott. Only 34 percent of respondents say the chancellor is doing an excellent or good job, 49 percent say he has done a fair or poor job and 17 percent are unsure.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly fares much better, as 55 percent say he is excelling or doing a good job and only 41 percent say fair or poor.
Those are numbers that a candidate for mayor could work with, but Kelly says he has no plans to run.