The state legislature has now passed the mayoral control vote onto the Assembly, who will decide whether or not Mayor Eric Adams will keep control over New York City schools Thursday.
Mayoral control gives the mayor the power to appoint the city’s schools chancellor and a majority of the Board of Education. Thursday's vote is one that New Yorkers on all sides of the issue will be paying attention to.
Former mayor Michael Bloomberg was granted mayoral control of the schools back in 2002, but it’s not a guarantee. The state legislature has to vote to extend it every few years.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Adams asked the legislature for a four-year renewal, but it came down to just two years.
Parents and educators seem to be divided on the issue. The NYC School Safety Foalition said in a statement, "Mayor Adams and Chancellor David Banks should be granted not two, but three years of mayoral control without any extreme changes and with the time to weigh any proposed changes appropriately."
Some groups like the United Federation of Teachers are more conflicted. The UFT testified before the state senate this year about mayoral control, and they recommended what they say would be stricter limits on the power of the mayor with new check and balances.