NEW YORK, NY August 07, 2009 —Some parents' advocacy groups are not happy with the passage of the mayoral control bill in the state Senate. But they say there's a silver lining with an oversight committee that lawmakers established to monitor city officials. Lainie Haimson, of Class Size Matters, says she's optimistic about the new Senate committee.

HAIMSON: And it's going to have subpoena power and it's going to have the goal of keeping the Board of Education accountable for the decisions that they make.

Critics of the senate's new oversight committee say it's redundant, and that other committees already have subpoena power.

Next week, Governor Paterson is expected to sign the mayoral control bill that the Senate passed yesterday. The Assembly will have to return to approve the amendments the Senate passed. The amendments include the creation of a parents training center.