And then there were two.
Albany legislators want to whittle down an extension of control over the city’s public schools to just two years, a plan Mayor Eric Adams warned would “harm” Big Apple students.
The new bill introduced late Monday would force the city to cut counselor and social workers positions plus art programs, school trips, after-school tutoring and dyslexia screenings — a key issue the mayor has championed — Adams said in a statement Tuesday night.
“While we believe all parties are operating in good faith, we also believe the legislation as currently written is not the best we can do for New York City students, and we look forward to addressing these concerns in the coming days,” Adams argued.
The teachers’ union-friendly draft legislation adds new checks on the mayor’s power — including an expansion of the Panel for Educational Policy, the city’s pseudo-school board, to a whopping 23 voting members next school year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul had originally proposed a four-year extension of mayor control for Adams, with no changes to school governance structures.
“Governor Hochul has made it clear that extending mayoral control is a priority before the end of session, and we look forward to reviewing the bill when passed by both houses,” said Hazel Crampton-Hays, a spokesperson for the governor.
The draft legislation comes alongside a bill to reduce class sizes throughout the city to under 25 students per class with exemptions. The Post previously reported such a bill could be tied into passing mayoral control legislation.
Adams blasted the lack of funding tied to mandated class sizes.
“While my administration strongly supports lower class sizes, unless there is guaranteed funding attached to those mandates we will see cuts elsewhere in the system that would harm our most vulnerable students in our highest need communities,” he said.
He continued: “There must also be a mechanism for altering or delaying the plan to reduce class sizes if the mandate is shown to severely adversely impact racial equity and the city’s fiscal health.”
“After months of intense and complex negotiations, today we put forth legislation that will significantly modify NYC’s system of school governance in a way that will strengthen parental input and engagement, and for the first time, mandate the reduction of class sizes in New York City,” said State Sen. John Liu, who oversaw negotiations as chair of the committee on New York City education.
Under the proposal, five of the PEP appointees would still be made by borough presidents.
An additional five members, one from each borough, would be voted in by parent-led Community Education Council presidents to represent local families’ interests.
To keep the mayor’s supermajority, Adams would get 13 members on the panel — up from nine, the current makeup. Four of those members would need to be parents of public school students, including children with disabilities or learning English.
The current PEP has slots for 15 members, which have yet to be all filled during Adams’ tenure. The mayor made his final appointee in May — just as a borough president appointee had to step back from her responsibilities on the panel.
“I look at this legislation and I ask myself, you had two public hearings, and this is what you got from it?” said Tom Sheppard, the vice-chair of the board and elected by parents, who added some parent voices are still not included, like those who sit on citywide councils.
“We still need a commission to look at the future of governance of New York City public schools,” he said.
Members will be appointed for one-year terms, and the new bill includes language that protects them from being removed from their post for voting against the mayor or borough president who appointed them.
In prior administrations, mayors had the authority — and at times, would follow through — to ax appointees who voted against their policies.
The changes also add the city comptroller, currently Brad Lander, as a non-voting member of the education panel.
“I would be honored to join the PEP as a non-voting member and look forward to working hand-in-hand with PEP members to ensure we are investing wisely and equitably in educating the next generation,” said Lander.
The comptroller added that students “deserve a school board that makes informed funding and policy decisions based on the needs of students and school communities with the goal of creating inclusive, thriving school environments for all students.”
Lander has overseen a public dashboard to track how city schools spend nearly $11 billion in federal pandemic-relief funds, and in April sounded the alarm that the Department of Education has been slow to spend those dollars.
Also under the bill, the chancellor is charged with establishing a process for the parent-led council presidents to elect members of the PEP, and to remove members or fill vacancies. Their terms will start over the summer for one-year terms.
Appointed and elected members will newly be required to complete trainings on handling city funds, and the power and responsibilities of the board.
The United Federation of Teachers, whose members were noticeably absent from a rally to renew mayoral control in May despite saying they support it, have advocated for more checks and balances on Adams’ power.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the teachers union, said the proposed legislation “will increase parental involvement in the governance of our public schools, and will guarantee more independence for the members of the Panel for Educational Policy — both important priorities for the city’s teachers.”
The union has called for smaller, more manageable class sizes, including most recently lobbying the City Council to lower class sizes as a COVID-19 mitigation measure and to boost learning overall.
A statement from Mulgrew gave credit to state lawmakers “who have heard the call of parents who have been demanding reasonable class sizes for our city’s children.”
Zach Williams contributed to reporting.
