“Retirement” — NYC Schools Chancellor Banks to step down in December
New York City Department of Education (DOE) Schools Chancellor David Banks announced his intended “retirement” from office by the end of the year. This comes after a flurry of resignations from Mayor Eric Adam’s administration and amid federal investigations into city agencies.
“After nearly 40 years of dedicated service to New York City’s public schools, I have made the decision to retire at the end of this year,” said Banks in a statement. “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 and talented programs, and creating innovative pathways for our students to secure rewarding careers and long-term success.”
Banks and his brothers — Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III and political consultant Terence Banks — were thrust into the hot seat in the last two weeks. The ongoing, almost yearlong FBI probe into City Hall and city agencies led to several raids on their homes and seizure of their devices.
None of the Banks’ nor Adams were charged with any wrongdoing as of Tuesday, Sept. 24. However, former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and the mayor’s legal counsel Lisa Zornberg opted to resign shortly after the raids. Banks’ retirement is yet another resignation ripple on the surface of supposed calm in the Adams administration.
“Additionally, I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of families who entrust us with their children and the 140,000 employees who show up every day for our students — you make our public schools possible,” said Banks. “I grew up in our public schools and spent most of my adult life serving the students and families of our city, and I have every confidence that the work we’ve started will continue to thrive and benefit generations to come.”
Prior to being appointed the Chancellor, Banks was a nationally recognized education leader as the president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation and the principal of the all-boys public school Eagle Academy for Young Men. Banks and the 100 Black Men organization established the first Eagle Academy back in 2004 in the Bronx, which achieved monumental success.
Banks was ushered into the Adams administration in 2021 as one of his first appointees. Adams said at the initial press conference that it took him eight years to interview a suitable candidate for his appointment of chancellor — conceivably because he had planned on being mayor while Bill de Blasio was in office. After that lengthy process, Adams settled on Banks.
“I am immensely grateful and proud of the work accomplished in New York City Public Schools under Chancellor David Banks,” said Adams in a statement. “In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed — from ensuring schools were safe and open coming out of the pandemic to a space that has increased our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates. We’ve implemented critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads,’ ‘NYC Solves,’ and universal dyslexia screenings, while also ensuring a seamless and timely coordination with partners to welcome, enroll, and support thousands of newly-arriving students and their families on a citywide scale. We’ve done all this and more on behalf of nearly 1 million public school students, and Chancellor Banks was crucial to getting that done everyday. 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.”
The city’s top education leaders thanked Banks for his service.
“Now more than ever, we need to focus on doing the work that our students, educators, and public schools need,” said United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew. “Chancellor David Banks is an educator who sought to improve public education for all students. We thank him for his partnership, passion, and collaboration and wish him well.”
Councilmember Rita Joseph, who chairs the education committee, posted on social media that she was eternally grateful for Banks’ service as an educator. “Our shared vision for a brighter, more equitable future for New York City’s students is something I carry with me in every endeavor,” said Joseph. “As we continue this work, Chancellor Banks’ leadership will forever hold a special place in my heart and in the ongoing mission to deliver the best for our youngest New Yorkers.”
Meanwhile, Adams’ competition in next year’s mayoral race took the opportunity to take jabs at his unstable leadership.
“It’s beginning to feel like Groundhog Day,” said Senator Zellnor Myrie, who’s running for mayor. “The NYPD, Department of Health, and NYC Public Schools are three of the city’s most critical agencies, responsible for ensuring the safety, health, and future of our children — and in less than a month, our city is facing openings for all three commissioners.”
Senator Jessica Ramos said in a statement, “New Yorkers see City Hall as a cesspool of incompetence, corruption, and failure. That should embarrass us all. As the best city in the world, we should be elevating talented leaders, not managing a mass exodus from an administration marred by scandal. The DOE Chancellor announced his resignation cloaked as retirement on the foot of a federal investigation and just 20 days into our kids’ school year.”
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