Schools Chancellor Banks to retire, joining wave of NYC officials stepping down: sources

NEW YORK CITY - NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks announced his retirement, according to a letter obtained by FOX 5 NY. He's now the fourth high-ranking official to step down from Mayor Eric Adams' administration in recent weeks.

"I am immensely grateful and proud of the work accomplished in New York City Public Schools under Chancellor David Banks," Adams said in a statement. "On behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank Chancellor Banks for his service, and wish him well in his retirement at the end of the calendar year."

Banks, who has served as chancellor since 2022, is also one of many city officials whose devices were seized as the Adams administration deals with multiple federal investigations.

David Banks, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.

Banks said he had already informed the mayor of his decision to retire by the end of the year "after ensuring the school year got off to a good start." according to the letter.

"Serving as Chancellor has been a profound honor and a deeply fulfilling experience," the letter read.

Nearly a year after FBI agents seized his phones, Adams faces an expanding constellation of federal inquiries involving his administration. In recent weeks the investigations have produced a drumbeat of subpoenas, raids and whiplash-inducing developments for the first-term Democrat. 

Who is David Banks?

Banks has led the city’s public school system since Adams took office in 2022.

The Brooklyn native began his career in 1986 as a teacher at PS 167 in Crown Heights. 

Mayor Eric Adams joins NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks to announce the "New York City Reads" campaign. PS 156 Waverly, Brooklyn. Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Banks founded the Eagle Academy in 2004 to educate young Black and Latino boys who he believed were often poorly served by the educational system.

Before his appointment as schools chancellor, Banks ran the foundation that raises funds for the six Eagle Academy schools, one in each New York City borough and one in Newark, New Jersey.

Banks brothers raided

The decision comes weeks after federal agents seized Banks' phones, as well as devices belonging to the city's police commissioner, two deputy mayors and a top Adams adviser. The police commissioner, Edward Caban, resigned earlier this month.

Banks’ brother, Philip, is a former police officer who now serves as the city’s deputy mayor for public safety. Their brother Terence, a former supervisor in the city’s subway system, has been running a consulting firm that promised to connect clients with top government stakeholders.

Earlier this month, federal investigators seized David and Philip Banks’ cellphones.

David Banks shares a home in Harlem with his partner, Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor whose devices were also seized. He previously declined to talk about the search, telling reporters: "I can’t answer those questions."

Federal prosecutors have declined to discuss the investigations publicly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.