After campaigning against mayoral control of city schools as a candidate last year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is singing a different tune now that he’s running the city — and the school system.
The mayor wants lawmakers in Albany to give him a four-year extension of his control over schools, but some legislators are saying not so fast.
Trying to bolster the mayor’s case, the city’s schools chancellor is traveling to Albany Tuesday, NY1 has learned.
What You Need To Know
The mayor wants lawmakers in Albany to give him a four-year extension of his control over schools, but some legislators are saying not so fast. Trying to bolster the mayor’s case, the city’s schools chancellor is traveling to Albany Tuesday, NY1 has learned
But the chair of the state Senate’s New York City Education Committee says before promises are made, City Hall needs to submit a report showing how it will reduce overcrowding in public schools
Current law says by the 2027-2028 school year, kindergarten through third grade classes will be capped at 20 students; 23 students for grades fourth through eight; and 25 students for high school
“[Mayor Eric] Adams burns his bridges with the legislature. Now, Mamdani has a good relationship with the legislature. He’s a former legislator, and unlike Adams, he seems to have maintained those relationships,” David Bloomfield, a Brooklyn College and CUNY Grad Center education professor, said.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels is expected to head to Albany to pitch those who can greenlight or deny his requests — the state lawmakers — after admitting to the City Council Monday it will be hard to make good on the class size deadlines set under the 2022 law.
“What Mamdani has to do is reassure parents and parent activists that he really is concerned about listening to them, giving parents some more power at the school leadership team level, at the Community Education Council level, and he can do that within the context of mayoral control,” Bloomfield said.
But the chair of the state Senate’s New York City Education Committee says before promises are made, City Hall needs to submit a report showing how it will reduce overcrowding in public schools.
“We’d like to see a detailed plan from the city, from the Mamdani administration, about where and when new classrooms will be constructed in the city of New York. If we have that kind of detailed plan, then we can certainly support an extension of the timetable,” Queens Democratic State Sen. John Liu said.
Current law says by the 2027-2028 school year, kindergarten through third grade classes will be capped at 20 students; 23 students for grades fourth through eighth; and 25 students for high school.
Liu told NY1 that the city had already asked for more time.
“They have thrown out an idea of having a more gradual completion deadline of 70% compliance by this fall, and then 80% and 90% and then 100%,” he said. “It would extend the timetable of reducing New York City class sizes from six years to eight years, which I think it would be a reasonable thing to do.”
Michael Benedetto chairs the state Assembly’s Education Committee, telling NY1 he’s open to giving the city more cash.
His chamber’s one-house budget proposal allocated the city $600 million to help fund changes under the smaller class size law.
Although previous reports say City Hall may spend $2 billion annually and the city is also dealing with a multi-billion budget gap.
“They want extra money to reach it, or they want a law passed, possibly extending the mandate,” Benedetto said. “Then you had better get something to us pretty quickly.”
It’s rare for mayors to get a full four years of mayoral control — and even rarer to get it in a budget deal.
“It’s highly unlikely it’s going to be four years. It’s going to be less than that. Whether it’s going to be two years more or less, that is also up in the air right now,” Liu said. “It depends on how comfortable legislators are with this administration’s ability to comply with state law and [the] state constitution and also adopt what the mayor has talked about himself.”