NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams takes heat for old video suggesting one teacher can handle 400 students in virtual class
That’s quite the ratio.
New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams got schooled on Saturday after a video from February 2021 resurfaced in which he suggested that one teacher can successfully handle a virtual class of up to 400 students.
The video depicts the Brooklyn borough president waxing poetic about how a single talented instructor at Bronx High School of Science or Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan could reach hundreds of kids struggling to make the grade.
“You could have one great teacher that’s in one of our specialized high schools to teach 300 to 400 students who are struggling with math,” Adams said in the video posted Friday by YouTube host Matt Skidmore, who supports rival candidate Andrew Yang.
The post quickly went viral and drew sharp criticism from several media figures and supporters of rival mayoral campaigns, who suggested it reflected a less than a strong commitment to in-person education for city students.
Evan Thies, spokesperson for Adams’s campaign, disputed the validity of the video, which appeared to have been recorded at a mayoral forum in February with the Citizens Budget Commission during which Adams discussed his support for year-round education.
“It’s disappointing and dangerous that an outright lie purposely spread to mislead voters in the last ten days of the election by a rival campaign is now a story in the Daily News,” Thies said.
While the video appears to be authentic, the 19-second clip released by Skidmore had audible glitches and its veracity was originally questioned by the Daily News.
Adams himself waved away the charges as “nonsense” and claimed he has led the fight to get New York City public school students back to in-person classes.
“I have a learning disability and know personal attention is key,” Adams tweeted.
Some of Adams’ opponents accused the moderate Democratic candidate of wanting to spend more on police than schools.
“Massive, permanent online classrooms would send us backwards and be a disaster for our kids,” Yang said in a statement.
“Defunding schools to the point that we have a 400:1 student-to-teacher ratio (is) reckless & won’t make our future better,” tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who endorsed progressive lawyer Maya Wiley in the race.
Early voting started Saturday and will continue through next weekend. Election day for the Democratic primary is June 22.
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