New York City parents and teachers feel shut out of key decisions about children’s education under the current system of mayoral control, according to a pivotal state Education Department report released Tuesday.
The 281-page study, watched closely amid a debate in Albany over extending Mayor Adams’ control of the public schools, has the potential to drive changes to school governance in the nation’s largest school system. Recommendations from the public include to establish a commission to consider reforms that increase representation and input.
The report drew immediate condemnation from Mayor Adams who, not having seen the analysis, intimated that it could be politically motivated.
“I’m concerned, is this more political?” Adams told reporters Tuesday morning at City Hall. “Or is it about the way we have done it, and what Chancellor [David] Banks has done.”
A few hours later, state education officials said they provided Adams and Banks with copies of its report.
During the last renewal in 2022, lawmakers asked for the report on mayoral control, expected to inform their decisions of whether to extend it. If not, mayoral control would expire at the end of June.
“The report we’re issuing today is a thorough, research-based presentation of school governance models in New York City and elsewhere,” state Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa said in a statement, “that meets the law’s requirements with fidelity.”
The study considered public testimony at five hearings in each borough and written comment, alongside the city’s history of mayoral control and comparisons to similar school systems.
It found that while mayoral control of the public schools can boost efficiency and resources, the public expressed concerns about a lack of checks and balances, and transparency with its current iteration. The law has been amended eight times since mayoral control was implemented two decades ago to address similar concerns.
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While the majority of public feedback called for varying degrees of reform — ranging from revisions to phasing out mayoral control — some said the existing system is effective, the report found. Few people called for a return to the structure of local school boards, which faced criticism over poor school performance and corruption.
Centralized decision-making can also result in a problematic “one-size-fits-all” approach, parents and teachers said, and a lack of continuity in education policies and programs when a new mayor is elected.
While mayoral control was popular in large cities in the mid-1990s, researchers found some districts have already or voted to reverse course, including in Detroit, Chicago and Boston.
Compared with similar school systems reviewed in the report, the city’s approach imbues its mayor with the most power, closely followed by Yonkers. Other cities, including Philadelphia, Boston and D.C., require council or “nominating” committee input on key education appointments.
Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, has called for a four-year extension, but last month the state Senate and Assembly indicated little appetite for renewing mayoral control as part of the now-late budget.
The city’s teachers union and some parent advocates are pushing for checks on the mayor’s power to dictate school programs and procedures.
Currently, the city’s Panel for Educational Policy is mostly appointed by Adams and pushes through the administration’s directives on contracts, school mergers and closures. Under the United Federation of Teachers’ plan, the chancellor would have to convince the majority of the PEP to vote in his favor.
On the other side, a pro-charter school group, StudentsFirstNY, announced a seven-figure ad campaign last week to push for a four-year extension, backed by local power-players including the Partnership for New York City, Association for a Better New York, REBNY and Robin Hood.
Chancellor Banks, who traveled to Albany last week to tout the successes of mayoral control, briefed reporters after that several lawmakers were waiting on the report to decide on an extension.
“Ultimately, their decision around what’s going to happen with respect to mayoral control will have to incorporate lots of things, not the least of which is [they] want to take a look at the report,” Banks said. “I’m anxious to see the report as well.”
