Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.
A day before taking office, Zohran Mamdani said he wanted to retain sweeping power over New York City’s public schools, abandoning a major promise while campaigning for mayor.
But Mamdani will have to wait at least six months before he gains one of the biggest powers under mayoral control: appointing the majority of the school board. That body, known as the Panel for Educational Policy, votes on major Education Department contracts, changes to agency regulations, and school mergers and closures.
Of the panel’s 24 members, 13 are mayoral appointees. Under tweaks to state law shortly after Mayor Eric Adams took office, panel members serve one-year terms that run through June — meaning for the next six months, Mamdani is mostly stuck with his predecessor’s appointees. He’s the first mayor since the city transitioned to mayoral control in 2002 who cannot immediately appoint the majority of the board.
That sets up an unusual dynamic, as Mamdani must navigate a school board that he does not control. Meanwhile, he’s continuing to get pressure to give up major elements of mayoral control. A group of 43 advocacy organizations called on state lawmakers Tuesday to phase out the mayor’s majority on the board after two years while a commission rethinks the governance system.
“In some ways it’s a good test in terms of what it would look like to have a more independent board,” said Greg Faulkner, the current board chair who was selected by Adams from a list created by state lawmakers and is serving on a term that runs until September. “We want to work cooperatively.”
Experts and Education Department insiders largely agree that the board is unlikely to be a major obstacle to Mamdani until he can choose a full slate of appointees. Adams left behind two vacant mayoral seats, which Mamdani can fill anytime. (Aside from the mayoral appointees, five members are selected by parent leaders and each of the five borough presidents appoint a board member to represent them.)
“There’s a lot of goodwill towards the mayor that could tamp down efforts of the panel to go rogue,” said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University Teachers College who has studied the city’s public schools. “I’m not expecting there to be a lot of conflict around the mayor’s priorities,” he added, “not least because we don’t have much of a sense of the mayor’s priorities.”
Still, the board has sometimes thrown curveballs at new mayors. Just a few months after Adams took office, the board voted down the city’s school funding formula, creating pressure for the administration to make tweaks later on.
In recent months, the board repeatedly bucked City Hall, voting down millions worth of AI contracts, refusing to approve long-term extensions of school bus contracts, and raising concerns about administrative spending. Kiddom, a company that offers a digital platform for teachers to access curriculum materials and had been previously voted down, is back on the board’s agenda for a vote on Wednesday evening — the first panel meeting under Mamdani.
Kamar Samuels, Mamdani’s schools chancellor, has signaled interest in merging schools to address the growing number of small campuses and to promote integration. Those proposals, which often generate pushback from families and educators, are subject to board approval — though observers said it’s unlikely the new administration will propose many of them right away.
Still, one contentious plan to relocate an Upper West Side campus while eliminating the middle school grades of another Manhattan school is already in the works. Samuels helped launch conversations about that plan in his previous role as the superintendent of District 3, though it has not been formally proposed for a vote.
Mayoral control debate isn’t going anywhere
Questions about how the nation’s largest school system should be governed will be front and center in the coming months.
Mamdani must negotiate with state lawmakers over extending mayoral control, which is set to expire at the end of June. Gov. Kathy Hochul gave Mamdani’s effort a boost last week by proposing a four-year extension of the power.
The new mayor is also under scrutiny from advocates and progressive groups, dozens of whom are pressuring him to make good on his promise to make the system more responsive to students, parents, and teachers. Their Tuesday letter urged Mamdani to create a commission to help think through how to make the school system more democratic.
“Mayor Mamdani must partner with communities to build a governance model with meaningful checks and balances and far greater community leadership,” the letter states.
City Hall did not reply to questions about whether Mamdani is open to changes to the school’s board’s structure or when he plans to fill the remaining vacancies on the board. A Mamdani spokesperson, Jenna Lyle emphasized that the mayor is committed to “clear accountability and genuine community empowerment.”
“Building thoughtful and productive relationships with current and future Panel for Educational Policy members will be a priority,” she added.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
