Teachers Union Says Hundreds of High-Poverty NYC Schools Have Room to Shrink Classes

The city teachers union said on Tuesday that hundreds of New York City public schools already have the physical space to reduce class sizes under state law, as long as Mayor Eric Adams hires thousands of additional teachers.

A new analysis from the United Federation of Teachers found that 856 high-poverty schools could lower their class sizes by adding 3,000 teachers. The union put the cost of that hiring at $180 million.

"These schools have the room," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said on the steps of the Department of Education's headquarters. "We don't need any more excuses." He added that "it's time to roll up our sleeves and get this done."

The union also released a searchable database of schools. It is based on building capacity and the number of open classroom seats, and the union says it identifies schools with enough room to meet the state requirements.

The push comes less than three weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators agreed on a new state budget. That budget extended the mayor's control of the city's public schools, but it also increased pressure on his administration to follow the class size law. Under its terms, the state can withhold funding from the city if it does not set aside enough money to reduce class sizes at individual schools.

The Legislature passed the law in 2022, and it is being phased in gradually through 2028. Once fully in effect, classes will be capped at between 20 and 25 students, depending on grade level. The teachers union and many parents have campaigned for smaller classes for decades.

The Adams administration has strongly opposed the mandate, calling it impossibly expensive. The city's Independent Budget Office has estimated that meeting the requirement would take 17,700 new teachers and cost between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion a year. The education department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the union's analysis.

In a report released Monday, City Comptroller Brad Lander and the advocacy group Appleseed said merging schools could help the city comply with the law. Mergers are often controversial and slow to carry out.

Critics of the law say smaller classes will push principals to cut arts programs, honors classes and electives to free up space and staff. They also worry the mandate could limit access to some of the most sought-after programs, including the city's top-performing schools.

Jean Hahn, a Queens parent, said her child's middle school would need to cut enrollment by 300 students to comply. "That will really create havoc for families that move to neighborhoods so that they can send their kids to the zoned school," said Hahn, co-vice president of the group Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, which opposes the mandate.