Overview
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan sets school spending at $38 billion, about $3 billion more than this year and close to 30% of the city budget, with the Citizens Budget Commission estimating per‑pupil costs now top $42,000.
- Commentators argue the system serves about 150,000 fewer students than 15 years ago yet keeps a large central office, and they call for cutting non‑teaching posts to match lower enrollment.
- Roughly a third of the education budget goes to outside vendors, nearly $13 billion next year, with more than half of contracts renewed without a fresh bid and only about a third competitively bid, prompting proposals to audit and rebid deals.
- Special‑education tuition reimbursements known as Carter cases climbed from $47 million in 2005 to $1.3 billion in 2025 and are budgeted near $1.5 billion, and critics want to end automatic yearly renewals that began under Bill de Blasio and require annual reviews.
- Reform backers also urge pausing the state class‑size mandate to avoid an estimated $1.6 billion in new teacher hiring, with Council member Julie Menin pressing Albany to cover those costs.