When Michael Bloomberg took over the city four years ago, he made it big selling himself as the mayor who would finally put a derailed school system back on track and put under control after decades of ineffective bureaucracy.

Education is precisely the topic that’s most important to the Hispanic electorate, according to various surveys. In a board meeting yesterday for the daily Hoy, Bloomberg took great pains to highlight the improvement in the grades of city students, including Latinos, tested under his administration.

On his own report card, Bloomberg can also show off a historic reduction of crime and one of the most ambitious plans for affordable housing from recent administrations.

The 63-year-old multimillionaire, founder of the global news agency that carries his name, admits, however, that “there is no easy solution to complicated problems” and that much remains to be done on all fronts.

According to recent polls, over 50 percent of Latinos favor the mayor over Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic front-runner, who is running 15 percentage points behind.

However, the polls also show that many Latinos don’t believe that Bloomberg has responded to their needs.

The current mayor said that his legacy will institutionalize public education as a basic right, which should be a priority for New York’s mayor.

Grades have gone up, but what about the persistent school desertion among Latinos?

It’s a disgrace. The plan to put an end to the desertion is called putting an end to “social promotion.” Kids drop out because they don’t understand what the teacher is talking about. They can’t read or do their math homework. For kids who have already repeated a grade and still have not learned, we have to make appropriate schools that interest them, and teach specific subject matter. We are also looking to implement vocational educational programs in various schools in the five boroughs.

What about the quality of bilingual education?

This is a city that speaks English. In order to function well here, you have to know English. If you don’t, you can’t get a good job. I believe that the parents agree we have make sure that bilingual education is really bilingual, not monolingual.

According to a survey conducted by the Hispanic Federation, 56 percent of Latinos believe that their needs have not been met. For the general public, if you add up our achievements in crime reduction, education, employment, and housing, tell me if we are or aren’t responding to the needs of your readers.

Can safety measures affect immigrants’ civil rights?

New York’s diversity is our strength. Racial profiling by the police, for example, is unacceptable. You can’t have “a little” discrimination. We’re not having profiling of any kind. One of our concerns is that everyone can feel comfortable turning to local government.

You have said in the past that you are in favor of legalizing immigrants. Have you done anything in Washington for this cause?

I have put as much pressure as I can on Washington. I have spoken of it many times. This country has over 12 million undocumented people. We should legalize their status. We should let them work without being abused and without being afraid all the time of interacting with the government.

Has your position against giving the right to vote to residents in the local elections changed?

I believe that citizenship should be a requirement to vote, but I believe that we should make sure that those who are here legally can become citizens. The most important right that is obtained when becoming a citizen is the right to vote.

What’s going to happen to the licensing problem with undocumented people?

It’s a state problem. The people who talk about it want a national identification card. If you give them legal residence, there wouldn’t be this problem. What I won’t tolerate is that if you’re going to request a license, they ask you your migratory status.

How do you see yourself possibly confronting Ferrer in November?

If I do I good job and work hard, I hope that the voters will appreciate it. I don’t know more than you know. What I have to do is continue doing what I’m doing. The progress that we have made in all areas I believe is substantial. It doesn’t matter who runs against me. I’m going to leave it to all the neighborhoods to tell the people what we have done and what the benefits are of continuing to make the progress.