Why the NYC candidates for Mayor are not talking about education

There are no easy solutions to fix the most inefficient public schools in the country

May 09, 2025

The NYT had an article a few weeks ago about how the candidates for Mayor are not discussing education in this campaign besides the fact that it represents $40 Billion in the city budget.

They are not talking about it because there are no easy ways to fix the most inefficient public schools in the country:

Enrollment is down, per pupil spending is up but learning outcomes are declining or still below pre-pandemic levels. There is no way to avoid closing schools that are under-enrolled and under-performing.
Class Size Law is a disaster: unaffordable and unimplementable, it will decrease space in the most popular NYC schools (check what is happening in D25) while benefiting mostly the higher-performing school districts.
NYC Reads is an important initiative that needs some fixing: the majority of school districts in NYC choose a curriculum that “falls short” according to Natalie Wexler. Parents have been saying that since 2023.
There are no simple solutions to fix the rampant chronic absenteeism in NYC.
NY charters are doing a much better job than the district getting low-income kids to proficiency by 8th grade.

We are only 7 weeks away from the NYC Primaries. After we have an official candidate for Mayor, we might be able to get more specifics about what are his plans for our public schools.

Only 4 more days to vote for CEC elections

If you have a child enrolled in District 2, please vote for me for CEC. Last day to vote is Tuesday, May 13th.

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What I am reading this week

There is nothing more important than getting literacy right and we should all be learning from the Southern Surge. Here are a few articles about that: