New York City school chancellor to step down amid federal probes
(The Center Square) — New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks is stepping down amid spiraling federal investigators into Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Banks, who was appointed by Adams in 2022 to take over the nation’s largest school system, announced in a letter to city officials that he would be retiring, effective Dec. 31.
The move comes two weeks after federal investigators reportedly seized his phones and searched the homes of his romantic partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and his brother, Phil Banks, who serves as the city’s deputy mayor for public safety.
“I want to thank Mayor Adams for giving me the opportunity to serve as chancellor, and I am immensely proud of the progress we’ve made together — ensuring every child can read, expanding special education and gifted & talented programs, and creating innovative pathways for our students to secure rewarding careers and long-term success,” Banks said in a statement.
Adams praised banks for his service to the city, and ticked off a list of accomplishments under his leadership, including “increasing our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates to universal dyslexia screenings and supporting thousands of newly-arriving students and their families on a citywide scale.”
“In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed for the better for our students, staff, and families,” Adams said in a statement. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank Chancellor Banks for his service, and wish him well in his retirement at the end of the calendar year.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also praised Banks for “his work leading NYC Schools and his decades of service to improve the educational achievements and experiences of our students.”
“We are prepared to support a seamless transition, because that is vital for our students,” she said in a statement on social media.
Adams was expected on Wednesday to name Melissa Aviles-Ramos, a Department of Education official who oversaw the city’s efforts to incorporate migrant students, to take over as interim head of the school system, which includes 1,600 schools and more than 900,000 students.
However, the resignation comes on the heels of widening federal investigations into the Adams administration, with the homes of several top officials searched and materials seized over the past month.
Earlier this month, federal raids targeted several high-profile members of Adams’ administration, some of whom have stepped down, including former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, Adams’ top lawyer Lisa Zornberg and the city’s Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.
The swirling investigations have prompted several challengers to Adams in next year’s Democratic primary, several of whom have seized on the multiple probes into his administration to argue that the city needs a change of leadership.
State Senator Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn Democrat, pointed out that the city has seen the resignations of leaders of its top three agencies in a short period of time. He compared Banks’ resignation to “Groundhog Day.”
“Literally every day two things are happening,” Myrie posted on social media. “One, New Yorkers are reading headlines that show the chaos of the Adams administration. And two, Eric Adams himself is doing and saying nothing to reassure New Yorkers he has his hands on the wheel.”
The cloud over City Hall has also prompted calls from some fellow Democrats for Adams to resign ahead of next year’s election.
But Adams has resisted those calls, pointing out that he hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing and suggesting in recent press briefings that he isn’t concerned about the optics of the federal probes and resignations of his top aides.
