NEW YORK — New York City parents and teachers feel shut out of key decisions about children’s education under the current system of mayoral control, according to a pivotal state Education Department report released Tuesday.

The 281-page study, watched closely amid a debate in Albany over extending Mayor Eric Adams’ control of the public schools, has the potential to drive changes to school governance in the nation’s largest school system. Recommendations from the public include to establish a commission to consider reforms that increase representation and input.

The report drew immediate condemnation from Adams who, not having seen the analysis, intimated that it could be politically motivated. At a press conference before its official release, he suggested the study reflected the opinions of those he called “professional” parents, and not “everyday New Yorkers.”

“I’m concerned, is this more political?” Adams told reporters Tuesday morning at City Hall. “Or is it about the way we have done it, and what Chancellor [David] Banks has done.”

During the last renewal in 2022, lawmakers asked for the report on mayoral control, expected to inform their decisions of whether to extend it. If not, mayoral control would expire at the end of June.

“The report we’re issuing today is a thorough, research-based presentation of school governance models in New York City and elsewhere,” state Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa said in a statement, “that meets the law’s requirements with fidelity.”

The study considered public testimony at five hearings in each borough and written comment, alongside the city’s history of school governance and comparisons to similar school systems.

It found that while mayoral control of the public schools can boost efficiency and resources, the public expressed concerns about a lack of checks and balances, and transparency with its current iteration. The law has been amended eight times since mayoral control was implemented two decades ago to address similar concerns.

The majority of feedback called for varying degrees of reform — ranging from revisions to phasing out mayoral control — though some said the existing system is effective, the report found. Few people called for a return to the structure of local school boards, which faced criticism over poor school performance and corruption.

Centralized decision-making can also result in a problematic “one-size-fits-all” approach, parents and teachers said, and a lack of continuity in education policies and programs when a new mayor is elected.

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