NYC Public Schools Chancellor David Banks to step down

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks will step down at the end of the year.

Banks, who has led the country's largest school system for nearly three years, plans to step down from his position on Dec. 31.

Banks on Tuesday informed Mayor Eric Adams of his decision in a letter obtained by PIX11 News.

In the letter, Banks said he previously told Adams during a meeting earlier this year of his plan to "retire" at the end of 2024 "after ensuring the school year got off to a good start."

"I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure and the opportunity to work alongside such dedicated professionals to shape the future of education in our great city is one that I will always cherish," Banks said in the letter. "We have faced many challenges and made significant strides in improving the educational landscape for our students, families and educators."

Banks thanked the mayor for the opportunity to serve and said he would work to ensure a smooth transition for the next school chancellor.

"I am confident that NYC Public Schools will continue to grow, innovate and excel under the next chancellor," Banks said.

The mayor said he is "grateful" and "proud" of the work accomplished within New York City Public Schools under Banks' leadership.

"In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed — from ensuring schools were safe and open coming out of the pandemic to a space that has increased our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates," Adams said in a statement Tuesday. "We’ve implemented critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads,’ ‘NYC Solves,’ and universal dyslexia screenings while also ensuring a seamless and timely coordination with partners to welcome, enroll, and support thousands of newly arriving students and their families on a citywide scale."

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, thanked Banks for his "partnership" and "passion."

“Now more than ever, we need to focus on doing the work that our students, educators, and public schools need. Chancellor David Banks is an educator who sought to improve public education for all students," Mulgrew said in a statement.

Banks joins a handful of other top city officials to leave their posts in recent weeks. Earlier this month, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and chief legal counsel Liza Zornberg announced their resignations.

On Monday, Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Ashwin Vasan announced his resignation. 

The news comes about two weeks after the FBI raided the Harlem home Banks shares with First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and seized cellphones from the property, sources previously told PIX11 News. Investigators took his personal cellphone and his DOE phone, Banks said.

Banks said he had hired a lawyer and is "cooperating with a federal inquiry." As recently as Sept. 13, Banks said he was not distracted by the federal investigation and remained focused on his work as chancellor.

"I always live my life with integrity, every day of my life," Banks said of the investigation.

Banks’ brother, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, was also raided by the FBI, according to sources. Wright has maintained she did nothing wrong. 

“I am cooperating fully with any investigation. I am confident that I have done nothing wrong,” Wright said earlier in September. 

New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks' letter to Mayor Eric Adams.