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PRINCIPAL A KING IN QUEENS

For the first time, Queens Principal Anthony Lombardi has become a real school leader.

He’s now allowed — thanks to changes under mayoral control — to do things his way without having his hands tied or his efforts stalled by the massive bureaucracy.

Lombardi, of PS 49 in Middle Village, said the expanded powers provided to principals by Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have enabled him to transform his school into a neighborhood magnet.

“There’s less political interference. There’s less bureaucracy. The UFT does not function as a parallel management system,” Lombardi said, referring to the teachers union.

Lombardi, who has been the principal for 12 years, has more control over hiring his staff.

He said eliminating the rule in the union contract that allowed tenured teachers — some of whom were considered incompetent — to use their seniority to “bump” their way into his school has been a big plus.

“I’m able to keep the teachers I interviewed and trained. The elimination of transfers and bumping stabilizes a school’s organization,” he said.

Before mayoral control, PS 49 went through a stormy period as Lombardi sought to force out low-performing teachers under cumbersome union rules, which caused a war among his staff.

Mary Shannon, a literacy coach and teacher at the school for 18 years, recalled, “It was ugly for a long time. There were divided camps: who was with Mr. Lombardi and who wasn’t.

“But it had to be done. We had to clean house. It’s about the kids,” she said.

Lombardi also has more flexibility over how to spend school funds without getting clearance from higher-ups. Previously, he had to receive approval from a district superintendent.

For example, the 530-student school does not have an assistant principal. Lombardi instead uses that money for enrichment programs for kids, including an accelerated math program.

Lombardi himself teaches and supervises students every Friday during an assembly period.

He does so to free up his core math and English teachers to participate in an additional period for lesson planning. It gives him an opportunity to get the “pulse” of the students.

He even hired an architect to teach kids about architecture.

The results?

Math and reading scores are up 14 percent since 2003, and PS 49 received a solid B on its school report card last year.

In 2007, the state Education Department honored PS 49 for high performance and for closing the achievement gap for minority students.

More parents are clamoring to get their kids into the school, which is adding two kindergarten classes next fall and is expanding from K-to-5 to K-to-8.

Parents are thrilled with the changes.

“Principals and teachers are held accountable. That wasn’t true before,” said co-parent president Debbie Tschernel, a former English teacher with two children in the school. “I’m not willing to go back [to the old Board of Education].”

carl.campanile@nypost.com