At a legislative hearing on the future of mayoral control of city schools, Mayor Eric Adams made a brief virtual appearance to ask for a four-year extension.

“This is no time to go back to a broken system,” Adams said. “The system we had in place with the school boards was a broken system. It’s time to build on what we know works. Accountability is crucial in this process.”

What You Need To Know

  • State lawmakers held a hearing on mayoral control of NYC public schools, which expires later this year

  • Gov. Hochul has proposed a four-year extension, but lawmakers seemed more inclined to grant Mayor Adams two years

  • The issue has been a political football in years past, but that’s not expected this time around

Adams didn’t stick around for questions, but instead let lawmakers go back and forth with his schools chancellor, David Banks, who echoed the mayor’s plea.

“Mayoral accountability is the most successful and effective system of school governance that we can provide for our students," Banks said. "It is not a perfect system, but it is the best system that I have seen."

Pleasing Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing a four-year extension for him in her budget that’s due at the end of the month. But mayoral control does not expire until June, and some lawmakers believe it can be taken up later in the legislative session.

Legislators also seemed more inclined to allow a two-year extension, rather than four years.

“I would second the motion about two years and not four years,” State Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn said. “Giving the mayor four years in essence gives him his whole term.”

For years, members in both houses have called for changes to the current law, including mandating more parental involvement.

“Don’t you think that there are some changes that should be enacted so that we can make the mayor and yourself more accountable and have parents have a more robust way of engaging and providing input?” State Sen. John Liu of Queens said.

But the Adams administration didn’t seem all that interested in making those changes.

“I have not heard direct suggestions on changing mayoral accountability that’s been anything that I’ve heard yet that has been substance, yes, we have to change that,” Banks said.

Mayoral control became a political football during the de Blasio years, with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo often using it as leverage over the mayor. That’s not expected this time around, mostly because the players and personalities have changed. But it also doesn’t mean it will get extended exactly as the mayor wants.