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How well do politics and education mix? From New York to California, residents across the country are concerned that their public schools are being taken over by local mayors. Most controversially, New York City's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been confronted by loud opponents, with protesters arguing that Bloomberg is overstepping his boundaries in making major changes in the city's local schools. However, Bloomberg is not the only mayor under the spotlight.

This video looks at the issue of control in our schools.

The �鶹������ý Battle: Do Mayors Have Too Much Control?

As the reveals, there has been an "increasingly acrimonious battle over mayoral control of New York City's public schools." According to reports, Bloomberg took control from the "fractious Board of Eduction" in 2002 to make needed changes to help improve the public schools' test scores and graduation rates. While Bloomberg's intentions seem to have been noble, opponents argue that one mayor alone cannot have such authority and control over 1,500 schools and 1.1 million students. Although the mayoral oversight plan officially expired on June 30^th, Bloomberg still retains the ultimate control over the schools.

As a result, 10 democratic senators held a news conference in July, demanding that Bloomberg make concessions before attempting to enforce any additional educational reforms. The conference became increasingly tense as some of the senators labeled Bloomberg as a "dictator," stating

As educational leaders experiment with new programs to help turn around the current public school crisis, some experts predict that there will be a rising interest in privatizing many public schools. With public schools struggling to meet standards amidst decreased recessionary budgets, many parents and community members are wondering if their local schools will soon be in the hands of privatized leaders.

Public Schools: On the Path to Privatization?

Public schools, unlike private institutions, are funded through community, state, and national tax revenues. Some communities, through the voting process, have chosen to pay higher taxes for increased educational funding, while other communities choose to pay less. Local funds combined with national funds and the success of a school's test scores ultimately also determine the size of a school's budget. While each school community has its own formula for the amount of money it receives, nearly all public schools are struggling with lowered budgets from recent financial cuts.

In the past several decades, however, some school leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with the many educational restrictions set by either state or local officials. To provide public school students with the opportunity to participate in a uniquely designed curriculum program, some areas have created publicly funded "magnet schools."

This TEDTalk discusses the privatization of public schools.

For example, , located in North Carolina, offer magnet programs that adhere to

While media coverage surrounding gangs in school has subsided in recent years, the problem is still alarming. The reports that 23 percent of public schools experienced incidents of street gangs in their public school hallways. To protect students from local gangs, public schools are working to create action plans specifically targeted toward the phenomenon of street gang psychology.

Are Gangs Still a Problem in Public Schools?

While not every school and community is forced to cope with gang affiliations, nearly a quarter of the country’s public schools are directly confronted by street gangs. Reviewing further details from the National Center for Education Statistics, investigators report that “Street gangs are organized groups that are often involved in drugs, weapons trafficking, and violence.” Street gangs in public schools stimulate a climate of fear amongst students and teachers. Additionally, street gangs also increase the incidents of violent actions and outbreaks on campus.

Although studies show that urban schools are more likely to report the presence of gangs, surrounding suburban areas are still targeted areas for gang activity. 31% of urban public school students report gang occurrences on campus, but 18% of suburban public schools also face these issues.

This video reports on the creation of a gang task force in Atlanta schools.

What Causes Gang Issues and Affiliations?

According to research, teens and younger children choose to join a gang for

In light of terrifying outbreaks of school violence, nearly all public schools have embraced a “zero-tolerance policy” to deter students from malicious behavior. As the American Bar Association (ABA) describes, ‘“Zero tolerance’ is the phrase that describes America's response to student misbehavior. Zero tolerance means that a school will automatically and severely punish a student for a variety of infractions.” Common student infractions include carrying a weapon to school, engaging in threatening forms of physical or verbal behavior, and bullying other students.

However, does the zero-tolerance policy work in public schools? The ABA argues that the zero-tolerance approach has devastatingly turned into a “one size fits all solution” for problems that need more personal interpretation and subjective assessment. For example, misunderstandings and common minor infractions are penalized under the large umbrella of zero tolerance – leading to overreactions and potentially unjust punishments.

Subsequently, many parents and community members are questioning if other types of behavior policies would be more appropriate in keeping public school campuses safe.

This TEDx Talk discusses the impact of zero-tolerance on teenagers.

What are Zero Tolerance Policies?

Zero-tolerance policies are rules that specifically target the most serious risks facing the safety of students in public schools. For example, students who bring any weapon to school can be punished under zero-tolerance restrictions.

While these types of policies were intended to help create a more widespread environment of safety and

Once considered society’s role models, today’s teachers have been caught in a media frenzy of scandalous and questionable behavior. Parents and community members are voicing their justified concerns regarding how public schools evaluate their employees.

While the national statistics regarding teachers and their potential criminal connections are still vague, many cities and school districts have begun implementing their investigations of public school workers. For example, as reports, recent 2007 investigations uncovered a list of criminal convictions in various teachers’ files, including charges of stalking, theft, and assault, among other crimes. Subsequently, more leaders are debating how to evaluate each public school employee’s credentials, integrity, and background more effectively.

Are Schools Engaging in Effective Background Checks?

While all public schools are required to conduct background checks on newly hired teachers, most do not continue to randomly check a teacher’s criminal file once they are added to the school’s payroll system. As a result, some teachers may enter their careers without any record, yet they may commit unnoticed crimes while working for the school.

Adding to this concern, as further reveals, many teacher candidates can pass a basic background check – even if their record posts convictions of crimes such as assault, theft, and fraud! Among the 135 teachers with criminal records in Pittsburgh Public Schools, investigators discovered that some of the more severe charges were incidents ranging from possession of heroin and crack to embezzlement charges totaling $7,000. One local