For years, New York City’s schools operated under “mayoral control.” Now, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is rebranding it “mayoral accountability.”
What that means, exactly, may not be what you think.
Mamdani, who opposed mayoral control throughout his campaign, and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels now describe their oversight not as “control,” but “accountability.”
That sounds great, except they link the phrase to family empowerment and community voice — a fair enough goal but no substitute for real accountability.
“Mayoral accountability and family empowerment are not mutually exclusive,” notes Samuels.
He’s right. But they’re clearly different concepts: Family empowerment is about participation. Accountability is about responsibility for student outcomes.
At the Legislature’s recent budget hearing, Mamdani said a four-year extension of “mayoral accountability” would create a system “where communities and parents have a voice.”
Giving parents a voice is about taking their opinions into account in making decisions. Again, that’s fine; parents’ input is vital.
But accountability is about who owns the final numbers — on student achievement, attendance, etc.
The original case for mayoral control made clear who was responsible: If the schools failed, parents could blame the mayor — and push to have him voted out of office.
Before mayoral control, authority was centralized and diffused, and so was the blame for failure.
Trouble is, when blame is spread to everyone, it rests with no one.
But now, Mamdani claims to back control, or at least “accountability.”
Great. So where are his numbers? What’s his target for reading and math proficiency and for reducing absenteeism?
And if his benchmarks aren’t hit, will the mayor own the failure?
True, parents’ views help enforce “accountability”: When test scores lag, for example, parents can express anger and exert political pressure.
But Mamdani must know that, parental pressure or not, accountability means he’s still responsible for improvement.
Family empowerment is not a substitute for performance.
If “accountability” is the goal, Mamdani should start by noting the facts.
In 2024, only 23% of eighth-graders scored proficient in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often referred to as the nation’s report card.
Just 29% of eighth-graders were proficient in reading.
More than two-thirds of city students are not meeting national proficiency benchmarks.
Attendance is also a problem. One in three students missed at least 10% of the 2024-2025 school year.
Altogether, this reflects hundreds of thousands of students not on track.
If “mayoral accountability” is real, he should explain how he plans to improve things.
How much will reading and math proficiency rise — and how will he accomplish that?
Will chronic absenteeism fall? And will families be able to track that progress for themselves?
So far, the emphasis has been on strengthening the community voice. That fits with the mayor’s socialist philosophy.
Yet talk about improving performance — let alone setting concrete targets — is utterly nonexistent.
More meetings won’t raise reading scores.
Accountability means enforcing attendance and not treating school as optional.
It means improving instruction and backing teachers who deliver results for students.
And, yes, challenging policies that put adult interests ahead of students.
New Yorkers deserve to know what success looks like, how Mamdani plans to achieve it and what happens if he doesn’t. That’s accountability.
The education budget for the 2025-26 school year roughly exceeds $30 billion, and enrollment is approximately 793,300 K-12 students.
The public deserves more than cheery, boilerplate rhetoric for its money.
Taxpayers deserve to know not just how much is being spent, but what it is producing.
Which programs are working and which aren’t? Will money be redirected accordingly?
Enrollment has declined, leaving some schools significantly under-enrolled. Half-empty buildings don’t raise math or reading scores. They tie up money.
Accountability means making hard calls when schools aren’t working, even when they’re unpopular.
The administration’s language suggests a focus on process, community voice, structure and integration.
But none of that raises proficiency.
Success is not measured by how many meetings are held, panels established or studies undertaken.
It’s measured by the number of students who can read by the end of third grade, by whether kids are showing up for school, paying attention, doing their homework, scoring better on tests.
Nearly 800,000 students rely on the city’s public schools each day. Families make life decisions based on whether their schools are improving.
If accountability is going to mean anything, it has to show up in better academic results.
Mamdani should spell out the numbers and be prepared to be judged by them.
Jennifer Weber is a K-12 education policy fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
