Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to name a Manhattan superintendent as his next schools chancellor, The Post has confirmed.
Kamar Samuels, who currently works in Manhattan’s District 3, will take over the largest school system in the country with more than 900,000 students and 135,000 employees come Jan. 1.
Mamdani’s long-awaited schools chancellor pick was first reported by City and State.
The horse-race for the next top official in the city’s school system came down to Samuels and the current chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who hasn’t been shy about her willingness to stay on the job.
But neither were the first pick for the job.
Instead, former Mayor Bill de Blasio schools leader Meisha Porter had been expected to land the gig.
“She was this close,” one insider said, adding, “[Porter] was not happy with Mamdani.”
After she fell out of favor, the transition had to look at the rest of the shortlist, dragging out the selection until the last minute.
“This was not a simple process,” they added.
Moshe Spern, the head of United Jewish Teachers, said Samuels was a “really good choice” for schools chancellor.
“He is a well experienced superintendent and school leader. I am very hopeful he will be a partner in combatting antisemitism that is still happening in our public schools across the city,” Spern said in a statement.
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile
