New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the appointment of Melissa Aviles-Ramos as the new Schools Chancellor, replacing David Banks. Aviles-Ramos, who currently serves as deputy chancellor of the city’s public schools, will assume her new role on December 31. She brings extensive experience within the Department of Education, having held positions such as chief of staff and senior executive director. Aviles-Ramos’s appointment comes in the wake of federal authorities tightening their scrutiny on city officials.
Banks’s resignation was made public on Tuesday and is set to take effect at the end of this year. His departure follows a corruption probe that has raised concerns about Adams’s political future. Federal agents raided Banks’s home earlier this month and seized his phone, along with that of his partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.
Banks took office as New York City schools chancellor on January 1, 2022, succeeding Meisha Ross Porter. In response to Banks’s retirement announcement, Mayor Adams commended his contributions to various educational programs and initiatives aimed at improving reading scores, math scores, graduation rates, and implementing dyslexia screenings.
In a similar vein to his retirement statement from September 17 titled “State of Our Schools,” Banks expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve under Adams and highlighted their joint accomplishments during his tenure. Notably mentioned was an investment of $1.5 billion in New York schools using COVID-19 stimulus funding.
The ongoing investigation into high-ranking officials within Adams’s administration shows no signs of slowing down. Prior to Banks stepping down, New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban resigned after federal agents seized his phone in connection with an inquiry into his twin brother James’s business dealings with local establishments.
To fill Caban’s position temporarily, Adams appointed Tom Donlon—an experienced anti-terrorism official who himself became subject to a law enforcement inquiry last week when federal agents executed search warrants at his residences unrelated to his work for the NYPD.
Additionally troubling is last week’s arrest of two officials from the New York Fire Department for their alleged involvement in a bribery scheme related to expedited fire safety inspections.
As this story develops further amid mounting scrutiny from federal authorities investigating corruption allegations within key positions in Mayor Adam’s administration—no comment has been provided by the Department of Education at this time.
