Logo

School won’t be out until halfway through next summer if GOP mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa wins his long-shot bid to lead the Big Apple.

Sliwa wants to extend all public school classes from September through the end of July 2022 to help students who fell behind when instruction went remote during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Priority No. 1 is we must reopen fully and remain open throughout the year to make up for some of the lost learning experience for our children,” Sliwa said Thursday at his campaign headquarters while unveiling his 12-point education plan.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has rejected repeated calls for a remote option and insists all 1 million public school students will be back in classrooms full time starting Sept. 13.

Sliwa’s extended calendar would not be permanent, but he would wait until next year to assess the need for additional summer weeks in 2023.


  Sliwa wants to extend all public school classes from September through the end of July 2022 to help students who fell behind. BRIGITTE STELZER Sliwa wants to extend all public school classes from September through the end of July 2022 to help students who fell behind. BRIGITTE STELZER

Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams– who will likely win the November general election with the vast majority of city voters being registered Democrats — also supports summer schooling.

“Eric has called for expanded options for students and parents during the entire summer, including traditional classes for students who need to catch up, skills training, and experiences outside of school walls to help students’ overall growth and development, including cultural and career training,” an Adams campaign spokesman said.

Other parts of Sliwa’s education plan include slashing spending on administrators. Nearly 1,189 paper pushers currently pull in up to $262,000 a year at the massive agency, he said.

“We have a bloated bureaucracy called the Department of Education,” Sliwa said, noting that despite the agency’s $38 billion annual budget, teachers and parents often have to dip into their own pockets to pay for basic classrooms supplies like pencils and erasers.

Sliwa vowed to cut down on bureaucratic positions and funnel that money to teachers.

He says those pay bumps are needed to decrease current attrition levels of 40 percent after five years. 

Sliwa wants to add financial literacy courses and vocational instruction to public schools, increase the number of gifted and talented programs, and lift the cap on charter schools.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy