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Outgoing Chancellor David Banks’ shock early exit even came as a surprise to the schools boss himself.Banks was blindsided to learn from Mayor Eric Adams late Wednesday that he’d be pushed out of his job months earlier than planned, insiders told The Post.Hizzoner barely gave Banks a heads-up as city officials announced nearly simultaneously that Melissa Aviles-Ramos would take over as chancellor Oct.16, rather than at the year’s end as originally planned, sources said.The sudden ouster left Banks upset, a source close to his team said Thursday.“He hates that he didn’t get a chance to speak with his senior leadership team before the decision was made,” the source said.
“He wasn’t consulted on the change of plans.“Also, by removing him before Dec.31, this will affect his pension amount.”The brutal backroom maneuvering comes as the indicted Adams, besieged by federal investigations aimed at himself and his top officials, appears to be working to maintain the trust of Gov.
Kathy Hochul and keep his job, according to sources.Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, told the mayor he needs to clean house of problem staff — but has shied away from publicly saying who needs to be shown the door.One source with knowledge of the decision told The Post it “dovetails” with the governor’s request to oust “those people who could be problematic.”Banks and his now-wife, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, were among several top City Hall officials who had their phones seized in a spate of federal raids a month ago.The raids both compounded existing friction between Banks and Adams, sources said — adding that new strife followed when Adams himself was indicted last week.Adams was ticked off by Banks confiding to city superintendents that he doubted the mayor could stay in power while facing federal criminal charges, sources said.The mayor and City Hall officials also believed the blabbermouth Banks botched and created confusion among...