The level of trust in New York City public school Chancellor David Banks among educators has dropped to a concerning 54%, according to a recent survey conducted from February through April, before he became a target of federal probes plaguing Mayor Adams’ administration.
Alarming figures were gathered from discontented teachers in the city-wide survey. Nearly half of respondents disagreed with the statement “I trust the Chancellor at his word.” When asked how much they agree with the statement “The Chancellor is an effective manager who makes the NYC DOE run smoothly,” a significant 43% responded negatively.
Overall, dissatisfaction with Banks’ leadership has risen to 32%, up from 30% last year. In comparison, under former Chancellor Richard Carranza in 2019, only 17% reported dissatisfaction.
One NYC educator expressed their concerns to The Post, stating that “the chancellor has forgotten what a classroom looks like” and described him as “more a bureaucratic politician than he is a school leader.” Teachers have criticized Banks’ handling of antisemitism in schools following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, as well as the implementation of curricula like Into Reading and Illustrative Math without teacher input.
Tova Plaut, an educator and founder of the NYC Public Schools Alliance, a group of teachers speaking out against antisemitism, said that harsh reviews are unsurprising to those who have experienced hate in the school system. He mismanaged the response initially, and the follow-up was not effective or meaningful,” she explained. Educators are losing their trust in him because he has not been effective in ensuring basic safety for students and educators.
Last week, federal investigators seized electronic devices from many of Mayor Eric Adams’ top officials, including Banks and his brothers, in what sources have called a corruption and influence peddling probe by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
