State Sen. Brian Benjamin, a Democrat from Harlem, wants to weaken mayoral control over the NYC school system by requiring majority support from the state senator, Assembly member, congressional representative, borough president and City Council member representing a district targeted for «proposed school closings or significant changes in school utilization.» (nystateofpolitics.com)
The mayor appoints eight of the P.E.P.'s 13 members, who decide on school utilization and contracts proposals, along with major changes to D.O.E. policy. (politico.com)
Mayoral control, as imagined and implemented by Bloomberg, centralized the vast school system by eliminating the Board of Education and replacing it with the Panel for Educational Policy (P.E.P.), a board mostly comprised of mayoral allies that decides on major contract and school utilization proposals. (politico.com)