As you may remember from our March 9 newsletter, Mayor Eric Adams was pushing for state lawmakers to renew mayoral school control for the 2023 budget. While Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a four year extension of mayoral control, it was ultimately left out of the $220 billion budget passed this past Saturday. Adams is now pleading with legislators to grant the extension and Gov. Hochul has promised that she will make sure it happens by the June 30 expiration date.
Adams has been emphasizing the fact that this is the first time New York City has an African American mayor and chancellor at the same time, and the importance of giving them both the opportunity to fix the inequities in our school system. Traditionally, voters elect a school board to control their district’s schools. Under mayoral control, the mayor chooses the schools chancellor and has a degree of authority over schools. Despite his public appearances, legislative sources told the New York Post that Adams never actually contacted members to lobby them while the budget was being negotiated.
