New York lawmakers adopted the final pieces of a roughly $254 billion state budget in late May 2026 — about 57 days past the April 1 deadline and the latest budget in 16 years — and tucked inside it was the answer to one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first major Albany asks: he keeps control of New York City’s schools, but for two years, not four.

Two years, not four

The budget extends mayoral control of the city’s school system through June 2028. That is half of what Mamdani’s administration and Governor Kathy Hochul had pushed for. Hochul, at the request of City Hall, had proposed a four-year extension, with the administration arguing that the city’s ability to comply with a 2022 state law requiring smaller class sizes depended on the centralized governance system staying in place.

Mayoral control gives the mayor the power to appoint a majority of the school board, name the schools chancellor, and set the policy direction of a district serving roughly a million students. Legislators — many wary of concentrating that power, and some looking for leverage over the new mayor — settled on a two-year extension instead.

Notably, the deal did not come bundled with structural tweaks to the school board to dilute the mayor’s authority, a break from some prior budget cycles when extensions were paired with governance changes. For Mamdani, that is a partial win: a shorter leash, but no erosion of the powers themselves.

The money

On funding, the budget was friendlier. Foundation Aid — the main state formula for school operating support — rises to a total of $27.4 billion, with districts guaranteed at least a 2% increase over the prior year. The budget also directs an additional $143 million toward homeless students, children in foster care, and English language learners, populations that drive higher costs for the city system.

That funding gives Mamdani’s schools chancellor more to work with even as the governance clock resets to a two-year horizon.

Why it was so late

The budget’s lateness — roughly 57 days, the worst in 16 years — reflected a long standoff over spending and policy in a session that also had to absorb a new and ideologically distinct New York City mayor into Albany’s calculations. Hochul ultimately signed the budget bills into law after lawmakers adopted the final measures, closing out a fiscal-year-2027 plan that had run nearly two months behind.

What it means for Mamdani

The schools outcome is a useful early read on Mamdani’s leverage in Albany. He got the thing he most needed — continued control of the school system — but on the Legislature’s terms, not his own, and on a timeline that guarantees the fight returns before the end of his term. The 2028 expiration means mayoral control will be live again in a future budget, a recurring pressure point that lawmakers can use to extract concessions.

Combined with the budget partnership Mamdani has cited in closing the city’s own fiscal gap, the Albany session shows a mayor who can win in the capital, but rarely cleanly. The two-year extension is both a victory and a reminder that the new mayor’s biggest priorities still pass through a Legislature that is not his.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did the 2026 state budget do for NYC mayoral control of schools?
It extended mayoral control of New York City public schools by two years, through June 2028. That is shorter than the four-year extension Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration and Governor Kathy Hochul had sought. The extension came with no changes shifting power away from the mayor.
How late was the budget?
Very late. Lawmakers adopted the final FY2027 budget bills in late May 2026, roughly 57 days past the April 1 deadline — the latest New York state budget in 16 years.
What happened with school funding?
Foundation Aid rose to a total of $27.4 billion, with districts getting at least a 2% increase over the prior year, plus $143 million more directed to homeless students, foster children, and English language learners.
Why does mayoral control matter to Mamdani?
Mayoral control lets the mayor pick a majority of the school board, appoint the schools chancellor, and set policy direction for the nation's largest school district. Mamdani's team argued it was also tied to meeting the state's class-size reduction mandate.