For more than 20 years, New York City schools have operated under a simple idea: If one person is in charge, one person is accountable.

Now mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani wants to break that link .

Mayoral control works the same way any strong organization works, with clear leadership.

When one person is ultimately responsible for a sprawling entity like the city Department of Education, with its 815,000 students and 1,600 schools, decisions move faster, reforms can be evaluated and voters know who to blame when things fail.

In 2002, when Mayor Mike Bloomberg first convinced the state Legislature to move city schools under mayoral control, the goal was simple: end the chaos of 32 local school boards and give one leader the authority, responsibility and accountability to run the n

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