NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Mayor Eric Adams has included funding for a massive teacher hiring spree in his 2026 Executive Budget.
New York City schools were previously asked to submit proposals to meet reduced class size requirements. Their proposals, which include 3,700 new teaching jobs, will be funded in the mayor’s Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.
The jobs would span across 750 schools in the public school system. They will help schools meet class size requirements in the next school year, Adams said.
New York City schools are supposed to cap class sizes between 20 and 25 students by September 2028, phased in over the next five years, according to the United Federation of Teachers.
If all these schools hit their hiring goals by the start of the next school year, 60% of New York City classrooms will have fewer students, according to UFT.
"Lowering class sizes in more than 700 schools will have an immediate and profound impact on the lives of students and will allow educators to do the work they love and signed up to do," said UFT Assistant Secretary Michael Sill
The city is planning a massive hiring spree that would far outpace previous years at the Department of Education, which usually hires between 4,000 and 5,000 employees per year, according to Chalkbeat. This year, the city aims to hire over 7,000.
Adams released his preliminary 2026 budget in January. City Council has called for $800 million more in education funding, Chalkbeat reported. The budget must be agreed upon and adopted by July 1.
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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