Diaz Appoints Fernandez to BOARD OF EDUCATION (!)

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. appointed former Hostos Community College president Dolores Fernandez to the Board of Education yesterday. This is NOT a typo. The law authorizing mayoral control expired at midnight last night, so the city must revert to the old system, a Board of Education (appointed by the 5 borough presidents and the mayor) and more than 30 local community school boards. The resurrection of the latter is probably unlikely anytime soon, because local school board members are/were elected and elections were in May. The old system also had much more powerful district superintendents than the ones currently in place under the centralized system. So, who knows how that would work? The mayor is holding a meeting at Tweed (which is the symbol of the new system) with the five borough presidents to reconstitute the old Board of Ed.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the utter and complete gridlock in the Capitol is no joke. Inaction has serious consequences, this probably being the most significant.

Here's the Diaz press release in its entirety.

Today, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., announced the appointment of Dr. Dolores Fernandez as the Bronx representative on the newly reconstituted Board of Education, effective following the sunset of mayoral control on July 1.

A resident of City Island, Dr. Fernandez had served as the president of Hostos Community College from 1998 until her retirement this year. She currently serves as a professor of urban education at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center in Manhattan.

“Though I am a supporter of some form of mayoral control, and I am disappointed that the current law was allowed to expire, the business of our children is too important to wait for Albany to act. Dr. Fernandez is a highly qualified, well respected educator with a long resume of accomplishments, and she will be a strong voice for the over one million public school children of the City. I am proud to appoint Dr. Fernandez to the Board of Education, and I look forward to working closely with her to craft an ambitious education agenda for the students of The Bronx and all five boroughs,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

“For me, it is an honor to be thought of by Borough President Diaz to represent The Bronx on the Board of Education. I look forward to serving our borough, and its children, in an admirable and professional way,” said Dr. Fernandez.

In addition to her work at Hostos Community College, Dr. Fernandez served as deputy chancellor for instruction and development for the Board of Education under Chancellor Richard R. Green from 1988-1990. Dr. Fernandez also served as director of education and deputy commissioner for program services for the New York State Division for Youth under Governor Mario Cuomo. An educator since 1978, Dr. Fernandez has also served as a teacher in Queens District 29, as well as the Long Island communities of Long Beach and Hempstead, during her career.

Dr. Fernandez graduated cum laude from Nassau Community College, earned a B.S. in Education from The State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury, and received a Master's in Education, as well as a professional Diploma in Educational Administration, from Long Island University (LIU) - C.W. Post College. She then earned her Professional Diploma in Reading and her Ph.D., in Language and Cognition from Hofstra University.