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Nearly Half of New Yorkers Believe Bloomberg's School Takeover Failed, Poll Says

By DNAinfo Staff on September 7, 2010 8:13am

Mayor Bloomberg assumed control of the city's public schools in 2002.
Mayor Bloomberg assumed control of the city's public schools in 2002.
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By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Education may be Mayor Michael Bloomberg's top priority, but New Yorkers believe he's earning a failing grade, a Marist-Daily News poll found, according to the paper.

Of the 809 residents polled, 49 percent said the mayor had "failed in his goal" to turn the city's public school system around, while only 38 percent said he'd succeeded, the News reported.

Despite criticism of Bloomberg's performance, most of the New Yorkers polled approved of charter schools, which have been greatly expanded since Bloomberg assumed control of the public school system in 2002.

Sixty-six percent said charter schools were a "good" thing – 70 percent of college graduates – while only 24 percent disagreed, the News said.

Interestingly, parents of children in the often maligned New York City public school system gave Mayor Bloomberg a more positive rating, with 46 percent saying he'd succeeded and 48 percent saying he'd failed, according to the paper.

The mayor's overall approval rating dropped to 49 percent last month, falling below 50 percent for the first time since 2005.