Governor Kathy Hochul signed into legislation a two-year extension of mayoral management over New York Metropolis public colleges shortly earlier than such authority would have expired at midnight Friday morning.
“This method has proven its success, with expanded instructional choices for college students and oldsters, and improved tutorial outcomes,” Hochul mentioned in a legislative memo.
“Mayor [Eric] Adams has proposed to enhance the system, and he needs to be given the identical alternative as his predecessors to take action,” Hochul added.
The extension was a prime precedence for Adams, who endorsed Hochul shortly earlier than her landslide victory within the Democratic major for governor.
Sources say the mayor leaned on the governor to get concessions from state lawmakers in trade for signing the invoice into legislation, which handed the state Legislature weeks in the past.
The tweaks, which can seemingly cross the state Legislature early subsequent yr, embody delaying the enlargement of the Panel on Training Coverage from 15 to 23 members till Jan. 15, 2023 – an enlargement reportedly backed by the town’s highly effective trainer’s union.
“The invoice as drafted required technical edits to make sure that the Metropolis has ample time to correctly effectuate this expanded and inclusive governance mannequin by the brand new Panel on Training Coverage,” Hochul mentioned within the memo.
The governor has but to signal laws that might mandate the town lower class sizes in metropolis colleges, which Adams has argued the town can’t afford with out enduring finances cuts to varsities.
“We like the thought of sophistication sizes. We simply should do it accurately — that we don’t affect our skill to make sure that these college students in these colleges which might be in want obtain the help they deserve,” Adams mentioned Thursday.
