What Role Should the Mayor have in Public Education?

There's a question.

I was amused to see Bruce Ramsey, another Seattle Times editorial board member, put out a column today that (oddly) asked Tim Burgess (who you may recall could even stick it out through the primary race), what the mayor of Seattle is and isn't.  Baffling.

Here's what the column said about public education:

He (Burgess) mentions education. I (Ramsey) object: Seattle Public Schools aren’t under the mayor, and in a mayoral race it is a distraction. Burgess disagreed: The mayor can use the Families and Education Levy to push for high standards.

Here's what I said in a comment:

As for the schools, the Families and Education should work with the district's direction, not the City's. If the City does not want to provide support to the schools because they disagree with the direction or standards the duly-hired Superintendent decides on, that's their call.   

As well, Burgess leaves out the City Council and I expect they would want to weigh in except that neither the Mayor nor the City Council should be telling the district what to do.  It's not their governance and it's not their role.  They really have the bully pulpit and public safety in terms of their role with public education.

Yes, of course, they should oversee the money and expect to see outcomes. But the Mayor decide "standards?" I think Burgess has been hanging around the Alliance for Education too long.