More than 600 parents besieged schools Chancellor Harold Levy at a groundbreaking town-hall meeting in Queens last night, complaining about everything from overcrowding to tough new standards.
“I’m still standing,” Levy quipped after fielding more than 50 questions over 2½ hours at Francis Lewis HS in Fresh Meadows.
Levy, who was formally named chancellor last month after serving in an interim capacity, said he enjoyed the give-and-take, and stressed the importance of engaging parents.
“Today is my foray in trying to galvanize parents,” he said. “We can’t do it alone.”
But parents also said they wanted to light a fire under Levy, and some complained they weren’t satisfied with his answers.
Levy was particularly troubled by a stream of frustrated parents upset over poor special-education programs, calling their criticism “sad and worrisome.”
In response to parent complaints about school overcrowding, he said the Board of Education won’t solve the problem until it receives billions of dollars in additional funding.
He also ducked some political hot potatoes.
Asked if he was in favor of school vouchers – which would use taxpayer dollars to help kids attend private schools – Levy said, “I’m not going there.”
He called the issue a “distraction” from his primary mission of finding more qualified teachers, improving student performance and holding all educators more accountable.
“He skirted a lot of questions,” said John Ciafone, a member of Community School Board 30 in western Queens.
Several parents complained that with tough, new graduation standards, teachers are focusing too much on test drills.
“Where is the learning?” asked Laurie Greenwald, who has a daughter at PS 117.
But Levy, who was accompanied by Queens board member Terri Thomson and Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, defended the tougher exams as a “bitter pill” needed to prepare students for the real world.
Levy plans to hold similar town-hall meetings in the other four boroughs in upcoming months.
It was the first time a schools boss has held a town-hall meeting in recent times.