Senate OKs 2 yrs. of mayor school control

Bills to extend mayoral control of New York City schools by two years and lower class sizes in city schools passed the state Senate Thursday, despite a last-ditch effort from Mayor Adams’ administration to get state legislators to reconsider.

One of the bills — which still needed approval from the state Assembly and Gov. Hochul as of Thursday afternoon — will extend Adams’ authority over city schools for two years, and beef up a watchdog panel responsible for overseeing the city Education Department. Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks argued in the days leading up to the vote that that two-year extension was too short and that enlarging the panel will create additional bureaucracy that slows down policy decisions.

The measure faced some opposition in the senate — both from legislators who believe mayoral control should not be renewed at all and that the city should return to an elected school board, and from lawmakers who argued that the proposal would place too many checks on Adams’ executive authority — but ultimately passed the chamber by a 39-24 margin. The other bill mandates the city Education Department to reduce class sizes at all schools to between 20 and 25 kids, depending on the grade, by 2027.

The legislation was embraced by the city teachers union and parent advocates who argue that smaller class sizes can improve academic outcomes and reduce teacher burnout.

But Adams (inset) and Banks have pushed back fiercely against the proposal in recent days, arguing that it amounts to a massive unfunded mandate that will cost the city $500 million for elementary schools alone, and could force the Education Department to cut other services. State Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), who has championed the class-size bill, pointed out that the state recently boosted funding for city schools by up to $1.4 billion a year and argued that the city should use a portion of that money to reduce class sizes.

That bill passed the Senate in a landslide, 59-4. The Assembly was expected to take up the legislation Thursday evening, and if it passes both chambers, it will be delivered to Gov. Hochul for final approval.