One and One With Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott By Felicia Persaud New York, April 2002: Newly elected Deputy Mayor of Policy Dennis Walcott has no qualms about eradicating the Board of Education. "I think the Board of Education needs to be abolished and obviously the mayor needs to be given control," said the grandson of Caribbean immigrants in a recent one-on-one interview at City Hall. Walcott is adamant that "by giving the mayor control, a cleaner line of accountability will (result) from the top down." "Right now there is no direct line of accountability," said the Cambria Heights resident. Asked whether that would be giving too much power to the mayor, the former day-care teacher said he thinks "the mayor should be given the power (especially since) people elect the mayor to run the city and education is one of the most important issues in the city right now." "You elect the mayor and what greater mobilizing factor for the voters to know than that there is a single person who has the responsibility under his or her control," said the former Urban League head. "So any person running for mayor he/she has to talk about his education plan and (this) may stimulate more people to come out and participate in the election process." As deputy mayor of policy, one of Walcott's primary function is serving as liaison to the Board of Education. He is charged with working with the Mayor Mike Bloomberg and staff to formulate an education agenda. Walcott also oversees the policies of the City University of New York, the Health and Hospitals Corporation, the New York Housing Authority and several other city agencies. And while abolishing the board, on which he served under both Mayor David N. Dinkins and Rudolph W. Giuliani, may be a major part of Walcott's focus these days, the new deputy mayor also wants to improve test scores, narrow the achievement gap between white and Asian students and black and Hispanic students, reduce the dropout rate and increase parent involvement in schools. So how does he plan to achieve these goals? In his trademark soft yet cultured way of speaking, the University of Bridgeport graduate acknowledged, "it's not as easy as saying there's a plan." But he quickly added, "It's also using the mayor's office to acknowledge there is a significant gap and then mobilizing people to respond to that gap." Those people include qualified teachers, principals with strong leadership skills and parents. And as the Board of Education pushes ahead with its employment of Caribbean teachers, Walcott says he has no hesitation in supporting the extension of the two-year contracts of those teachers all ready in the system. "Without question," said the grandson of Barbadian immigrants. "I think we need to reach into many areas as possible." "Barbados, where my relatives are from, has one of the highest literacy rates," he added "But it comes down to how we can support those teachers as far as housing allowances and other types of support so that we would be able to recruit qualified teachers and have programs in place to support them." While Walcott has his own ideas of how the system should be run to ensure the highest levels of efficiency, he is currently grappling with the challenge of being a part of city government. He is quick to confess that he's "never been in government before." So for now, the complexity of running a city compounded by a $4.8 billion deficit and the expectation of New Yorkers, has he and his staff of 8 working 12-14 hour days. Even weekends belong to the mayor now. Still Walcott smilingly admits that this job is the highpoint of his professional career. He cites his children - two 21-year-olds and two 17-year-olds - and his solid marriage of over 24 years, as his personal highpoints. In September, Walcott says he will celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary and after a quarter of a century marriage to his childhood sweetheart Denise, the deputy mayor says his relaxation still largely comes from being home. "As soon as I walk into my door at home, that's my relaxation. That provides that balance in my life," said Walcott. He is also a big sports fan and celebrated his 50th birthday this year by going skydiving. "It's something I've always wanted to do," said Walcott - when asked what made him interested in something that extreme. "I live to try different things." Those things also include tattooing - on his right biceps he has a tattoo of the Urban League insignia. At first glance, it is hard to believe that this slim-built, well-dressed man with a serious demeanor would be jumping out of a plane or having his arm tattooed. But while those facets of his personality are largely unknown, those that are known earn the deputy mayor high marks. They include the respect, simplicity and tranquility he exudes to anyone he comes in contact with. He credits his late parents ­ his father, an exterminator for the City Housing Authority and his mother, a city social worker - for those traits. And he says his Caribbean heritage also had a lot to do with instilling the importance of education and respect. Yet, Walcott readily says he does not have "formal" relationships with Caribbean groups in the city. But he adds that he's goes back to Barbados as often as he can, the most recent being for his 20th wedding anniversary five years ago. And he adds with delight, "I take great pride in my heritage. My heritage is a part of me and will always be a part of me. I guess the most satisfying part for me is when I'm in Barbados and I hear the name mentioned in the Bajan way of mentioning Walcott."