Mamdani Faces Costly Challenge to Cut N.Y.C. Class Sizes

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made shrinking class sizes a priority as New York City confronts a state law that requires public school classes to be 25 students or fewer by 2028. To meet the mandate across the nation’s largest school system the city would need to hire more than 10,000 additional teachers on top of roughly 75,000 already on staff, and the city’s Independent Budget Office estimates the effort could require as much as $700 million more.

The deadline is two years away. Some schools already show the effects. At Public School 9 in Prospect Heights, rosters fell from 32 to 20 after nearly a dozen new elementary teachers were hired, and parents and teachers described more individualized instruction and livelier classroom discussion.

A special education teacher who reduced a class from 34 to 25 said, “It’s easier to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.” The rollout faces practical and political hurdles.