ALBANY — As the deadline for state budget negotiations looms, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s authority over city schools faces uncertainty. The proposed four-year extension of his control could be scaled back to two years or even eliminated, according to insiders familiar with the discussions.
Governor Kathy Hochul had initially suggested a four-year continuation of mayoral oversight, but discussions indicate that this might be curtailed. This consideration aligns with potential amendments, likely postponements, to the existing law on class sizes—a regulation the Department of Education claims is incurring hundreds of millions in costs to enforce.
State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) highlighted the complexity of these negotiations. “I think it’s more on the table in terms of discussing an extension of mayoral control of the New York City school system,” Gianaris stated on Monday, referring to the class size legislation.
Gianaris also noted the intertwined nature of these issues, suggesting that the outcome of the mayoral control extension is still undecided. “I don’t know whether it will be inside or outside the budget, but it’s all happening simultaneously,” he remarked, reflecting the ongoing deliberations.
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“I don’t know whether it will be inside or outside the budget, but it’s all happening simultaneously,” he added about the mayoral control extension.
Hochul confirmed to reporters Tuesday morning that class size law talks were very much still alive after alluding to so a few weeks ago.
“Class size is something that’s there’s conversations about the financial impact immediately on that, and whether or not that has to happen in this year,” Hochul said.
Ex-Mayor Eric Adams had to beg Albany to grant him an extension of mayoral control, as many mayors do, though the issue has remained subdued in this year’s talks.
Other lawmakers pushed back on the notion that mayoral control could drop from the massive $263 billion budget package entire.
Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx) said mayoral control dropping merely a “rumor.”
