City Council Speaker Christine Quinn split with Mayor Bloomberg yesterday over an NAACP complaint about the use of entrance exams as the only criteria for getting into the city’s elite high schools.
Quinn defended the NAACP, which has criticized the city for what it describes as a racially discriminatory entrance process into top schools, such as Stuyvesant HS.
“I can’t speak to the legal issues . . . but I think the NAACP has a point we should take a look at,” Quinn, a Democratic hopeful for mayor, told radio host John Gambling. “I don’t think the only way to find the best students is through one singular test.”
Bloomberg last week scoffed at the complaint filed by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund.
“I do not think state law should be changed in terms of these specialty schools. These are schools designed for the best and the brightest,” Bloomberg said. “I don’t care what people say. Life isn’t always fair . . . If some kids want to work harder and some parents are able to focus and get more help for their kids, those kids are beneficiaries.”