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(A shorter version of this letter was printed in today's D&C):

Dear Rochester Community:

As many of you may already  know, Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy has proposed to eliminate the city  school board and bring the school system under mayoral control for a  five-year trial period. On Feb. 23, the presidents of 19 Rochester-area  colleges and universities submitted a letter (to the Democrat and  Chronicle) endorsing Duffy's proposal and joined a small group of  high-profile supporters including Monroe County Democratic Committee  Chairman Joe Morelle and  state Assemblyman David Gantt. We certainly  respect their right to free speech and we appreciate working at  institutions with leaders who are willing to engage in pressing public  issues. As faculty and staff from Rochester-area colleges and  universities, however, we oppose mayoral control.

We can all agree that the Rochester school system is in a dismal  state. We agree with the presidents fully when they conclude that, "The  stakes are high." We agree with the underlying motivation of the area  colleges' letter. The future of investment and growth in the region is  linked to the fate of Rochester city schools. The presidents of area  colleges should certainly care about these issues. However, they should  use their considerable influence to seriously examine and address all of  the factors that militate against a vibrant, sound and effective  education for all city students. Mayoral control is not the answer. The  reasons for our opposition to mayoral control are threefold.

First and most  fundamentally, it will tear away an important layer of democracy.  Routine school board meetings provide transparency and opportunities for  parents and community members to register their views on important  policy decisions. Mayoral control would eliminate a valuable mechanism  for citizen participation. We should find ways to make the board more  democratic, responsive and accountable. Such reforms might include term  limits for school board members, more representation of parents and  students on the board, and the creation of a rotating leadership  structure. If  Duffy is so confident that the residents of Rochester are  on board with this proposed change, he should call for an advisory  referendum and a legitimate poll involving a representative sample of  city residents.

Second, mayoral control has too often served as a prelude to the  privatization of public schools through voucher programs, increased  proliferation of (for-profit) charter schools (which funnel public funds  to the private sector) and the elimination or dilution of collective  bargaining agreements, measures which do not necessarily improve  classroom instruction and authentic academic growth. In one city after  another, whenever mayoral control has been instituted, it has been met  with resistance from students, parents and educators for the resulting  loss of transparency and fairness and the erosion of basic labor rights  of teachers and support staff.

Third, we are not convinced that mayoral control will yield the kind  of radical improvements in school performance touted by its advocates.  The implementation documents released by the mayor on March 15 and 29  include a number of guaranteed services and promised outcomes, including  the following: the promise to staff schools from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.  each day;  the commitment to provide "the best after-school program in  the country";  the guarantee of school bus service to all elementary  students who request it; and  the provision of "the best behavioral and  psychological support for disruptive students..."
We applaud the mayor for recognizing some of the core  areas that must be addressed for city schools to be successful. Many of  these initiatives are indeed long overdue and vital to the educational  well-being of city students. However, the mayor has not indicated how  these initiatives will be funded given the painful cuts in state and  municipal education budgets.

The most recent results of the National Assessment of  Educational Progress (NAEP) contradict this claim made in the area  colleges' letter that there is "considerable evidence that mayoral  control improves outcomes." Of the urban districts that have been  tracked by NAEP since 2002, the highest performing districts, Austin and  Charlotte, are not mayor-controlled, while the lowest performing  districts, Chicago, Cleveland and Washington, D.C., are under mayoral  control. (In fact, Chicago and Cleveland have been mayor-controlled for  almost a decade). Atlanta, the district that saw the most improvement  since 2002, is not mayor-controlled.

Even though it mentions the problem of concentrated poverty in passing,  the area colleges' letter stops short of providing a progressive  solution to the enduring matter of segregation in the region's public  school systems. How can we continue to profess equality of opportunity  in a nation where geography and class largely determine the quality of  education children will receive? The area college presidents might have  embraced other remedies, such as more equitable funding schemes, better  health services and jobs, regional consolidation of school districts or  resource sharing between urban-suburban districts. Such progressive  remedies have been touted in recent years by academics (many who work at  the very institutions these presidents represent), parent associations,  public school reformers and advocacy organizations like the Campaign  for Fiscal Equity and the Alliance for Quality Education here in New  York.

Those of us who want to improve the quality of public education and  maintain democracy have a serious fight on our hands. The future of  young Rochesterians and our right to self-governance are well worth  fighting for. Thank you for your time and consideration of these issues.

— Concerned staff and  faculty of Rochester-area colleges and universities

Karen  Frost-Arnold, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Brian  Bailey, Nazareth College

Maria  Brandt, Monroe Community College

William Cala, Nazareth  College

Meg Callahan, Nazareth College

Hilda  Chacon, Nazareth College

Leanne Charlesworth, Nazareth  College

Natasha  Chen, Monroe Community College

Anna Creadick, Hobart and  William Smith Colleges

Kevin Dunn, Hobart and William Smith  Colleges

Christopher Gunn, Hobart and William Smith  Colleges

Rachel  Haidu, The University of Rochester

David Hursh, The  University of Rochester

Gloria E. Jacobs, St. John Fisher  College

Cedric Johnson, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

James Johnson, The  University of Rochester

William A. Johnson Jr., Rochester  Institute of Technology

Jennifer King, The University of  Rochester

Rodmon King, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Kelley LaLonde,  Nazareth College

Heather Layton, The University of  Rochester

Steven Lee, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Jeffrey  A. Liles, St. John Fisher College

April Lynn Luehmann, The University of Rochester

April  McCloud, Nazareth College

Sekile Nzinga-Johnson, Nazareth  College

Marie O'Toole, Nazareth College

Paul Passavant, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Stacey  Philbrick-Yadav, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Ghislaine  Radegonde-Eison, The University of Rochester

Richard Ryan, The University of Rochester

Vincent  Serravallo, Rochester Institute of Technology

Shawgi Tell,  Nazareth College

Ed Wiltse, Nazareth College

James Wood, St. John  Fisher College