MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — Dr. Kimberly Young Wilkins, the monitor appointed by the New York State Commissioner of Education to oversee the Mount Vernon City School District, opened the first of three required public hearings Tuesday, July 22, to explain her duties under state law and to take public comment.

The hearing, held at the district’s Board of Education offices, focused on the monitor’s statutory authority, the timeline for an academic and financial plan and how the monitor’s office will communicate with parents, staff and the public. Dr. Young Wilkins said she was appointed effective July 1 and that the law requires her office to develop, in collaboration with the district, proposed academic improvement and financial plans “no later than 11/01/2025 for the 2025–26 school year and the four following school years.” She said the monitor will attend board meetings as a nonvoting member, report semiannually to state officials, and may recommend cost‑saving measures, disapprove out‑of‑state travel paid by the district, and notify the commissioner if the district violates the required plans.

The monitor reviewed state education law cited in her presentation and the authority it confers on the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education. She described the University of the State of New York as the umbrella for institutions subject to the Board of Regents and said the commissioner ‘‘has the authority much authority on the law’’ to supervise public education. She noted federal requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and said New York receives about $1,800,000,000 annually under that law, which requires states to identify and support low‑performing schools.

Parents and community leaders used the public‑comment portion to press the monitor and district leaders on timing, transparency and program integrity. Cynthia Crenshaw told the monitor, "aren't you, like, a dollar late, a dollar short?" and criticized the district’s prior decision to close multiple schools at once, saying the closures created chaos and that one closed building was a historic Black school. Janine Fertile, president of the PTA at STEAM Academy, asked several questions about communications, magnet programs and supports for special education, English learners and students with mental‑health needs, asking, "How are you ensuring that magnet programs like STEAM Academy and the performing arts retain their integrity and original purpose?"

Dr. Young Wilkins said transparency would be central to the monitor’s work: she told the audience she would be "at the board meetings," visit schools, hold forums throughout the year and be in the district "three days a week, if not four days and sometimes five days." She said the monitor’s comprehensive report is due to the commissioner on Nov. 1 and ‘‘it goes to the superintendent, then it goes to our wonderful board for approval, and then it goes out to you guys, so the public, everybody. It's a living, breathing document. It's for five years.’’ The monitor also emphasized the district’s student population in explaining priorities, saying, "I constantly remind folks... remember the 6,200 students that are in the middle of us all the time. If we don't talk about the kids, why are we here?"

Kathy Brewington, president of the Mount Vernon NAACP, introduced herself and invited collaboration between community groups and the monitor’s office. Erica Peterson, who identified herself as a board member and president of the Mount Vernon High School PTA, clarified that Mount Vernon High School is no longer on the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) list and urged accurate public reporting of the school’s status.

The hearing organizers reminded residents that written comments may still be submitted via the district website and that all comments will be entered into the public record for the monitor’s report. The monitor and district announced two further hearings: a public hearing on academics set for Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., and a hearing on fiscal status set for Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.; both will take place at the Board of Education offices.

No formal votes or board actions were taken during the hearing; the meeting served to explain legal authority and collect public input for the monitor’s required planning and reporting.

The monitor’s written plan is due Nov. 1, 2025, and will cover the 2025–26 school year and four subsequent years; Dr. Young Wilkins said she will begin reviewing annual budgets with the district beginning with the 2026–27 school year to ensure consistency with the approved plans.

For residents who could not speak at Tuesday’s hearing, officials said comments submitted online will be incorporated into the public record and considered as part of the monitor’s work.