School vote grants parents advisory voice

As the families of Harlem’s public school students consider the semesters ahead, unsure of who will control their children’s education programs, some are taking some extra time to unofficially participate in planning for the future.

The city’s Department of Education is now holding an informal online advisory vote to allow New York parents broader input in elections for Community Education Councils, groups that meet regularly to represent neighborhood parents, residents, and business-owners by offering their insights into school policy and instruction. Originally set to take place from April 6 until April 22, the voting period was extended through April 29 after parents complained they did not have enough time to vote because of the public schools’ spring break last week.

Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg shifted jurisdiction over the city’s public school boards to be under his control in 2003, the only eligible voters in actual CEC elections—previously held in 2005 and 2007—are Parent Teacher Association presidents, secretaries, and treasurers, according to New York State law. This limit on who has a voice in selecting CEC members led some to speak out for broader participation.

The DOE decided to take the general pulse of city school parents in the online straw vote this year, after hearing from candidates who said they might not have been well known outside their districts and PTA voters who said they didn’t necessarily know those candidates.

“Candidates felt like they might have a lot of support, but if they weren’t in the right circles ... they didn’t have a chance,” said Jeff Merritt, president and founder of Grassroots Initiative, which is managing all community outreach and candidate and voter assistance for the election.

PTA members voting for CEC members in the 2005 and 2007 elections also complained that they didn’t have sufficient information about candidates who might be new to the school system or live in districts that are far away, Merritt said.

“The advisory vote was brought into this in response for candidates to demonstrate their community support ... to show they had a broad base of parents who supported them,” he said. “On the flip side, PTA selectors are all provided with information on voting in their schools so they can see what the views of the other parents are.”

Sarah Morgridge, executive assistant to Robert Jackson who represents Morningside Heights on the City Council and chairs the Education Committee, noted that this election does not give parents the ability to participate in the actual CEC election itself.

“That’s what we used to have,” Morgridge said, referring to the time when school boards themselves, rather than the mayor, ran public schools. She raised concerns about voter equality. “Why would anyone who doesn’t have a computer go to the trouble of logging in and voting for a vote that doesn’t count?”

Powertotheparents.org organized the election, and parents can visit their website to cast their advisory votes. Required information such as voter ID numbers was sent home from school with students to give to voters in their families.

According to the Grassroots Initiative Web site, more than 850,000 households are eligible to vote. Wednesday, insideschools.org—a Web site that blogs about the city’s public schools—reported that fewer than 12,000 have voted so far.

Conducting an election uniquely online raises questions about access, as this is the city’s first public election conducted entirely online.
On powertotheparents.org, the ballot and FAQs can be accessed in nine different languages, and individuals with physical disabilities are able to vote on their own—two qualities that are uncommon when using paper ballots, Merritt suggested.

To enable individuals who might not have Internet access to vote, schools, churches, and public offices have made computers available, and voters can call a voter hotline to find a location, Merritt said.

“Everyone has their eyes on New York to see how this works,” Merritt said.