Albany city lawmakers are dashing Mayor Eric Adams’ hopes of adding more control over New York City’s public schools to the state budget, the Post reported.
Adams will instead have to hope the council passes an off-budget extension before June 30, when the mayor’s powers expire.
“I’m sure there will be a long discussion. Could it be canceled in June? That’s possible,” said Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto, one of Adams’ top demands for Albany this year. He pointed out that one would definitely not be included in the spending bill.
“It’s not really a budget issue. It’s a legislative policy issue,” he told The Post on Wednesday.
All eyes are now on the state Department of Education’s report on the effectiveness of mayoral control, expected to be released by the end of this month.
The study was requested by lawmakers when the mayor’s powers were last extended in 2022, and is based in part on a series of public hearings held over the past few months.
Several lawmakers told the Post they would consider the report’s findings when considering the issue.
If the study’s findings are unfavorable, it could give opponents ammunition to curb the mayor’s powers or repeal the policy altogether.
“We’ll have to wait to see how this report impacts the public debate, but I’d love to see an alternative model that incorporates the voices of staff, teachers, students and parents.” said state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), who represents the House. The Mayor’s Critic.
“I don’t know how many people are in each camp, but I think there are a lot of people who want to have those conversations,” she told the Post.
Adams has touted his success running the nation’s largest school system, where his predecessors, including Mayors Mike Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, have also faced opposition over their mayoral powers.
He spoke at a panel discussion in Albany over the weekend about his administration’s efforts to improve reading instruction for students and its work managing the influx of nearly 30,000 immigrant families into city schools. mentioned.
On Monday, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), which along with other teachers unions oppose the mayor’s administration, traveled to Albany to campaign against the measure.
“Teachers know best how to teach. They know best, not just one person at City Hall!” State Sen. John Lew (D-Queens) said as the crowd gathered. He spoke to hundreds of educators.
The UFT and other unions regularly funnel huge sums of money into the Democratic Party’s political machine.
In 2022, the UFT’s parent organization, United Teachers of New York, poured $500,000 into its political action committee, in addition to five- and six-figure contributions to the Working Families Party and state Democratic Party committee, respectively. .
The newspaper reported last year that Lieu, who chairs the state Senate Education Committee, was one of the union’s biggest backers, receiving more than $30,000 to his campaign since the 2018 election.
Lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, have said the mayor’s control will not be included in the spending bill because it has no direct fiscal impact, but Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a four-year plan in January’s budget proposal. We are proposing an extension of.
Neither chamber of Congress, which is dominated by Democrats, included an extension in separate budget proposals released this week.
Most previous extensions of mayoral powers, first implemented under Bloomberg in 2002, have been granted by Congress outside the state budget.
But lawmakers’ concerns about Mr. Adams’ control of city schools go deeper than whether they should be included in the state budget.
“It’s very difficult to see educational standards change based on who the mayor is, and I say this more as a parent than as a state senator,” Ramos said.
“And in this particular case, when as a state senator you’re sending money to New York City, and yet funding cuts to our children’s schools are still continuing.”
Some, like Benedetto, are adamant about giving Adams the extension he wants.
“People have different opinions,” Bronxpaul said.
“It’s going to be very hotly debated in some cases. People have strong opinions.”
