More than $200 million in cuts to New York City public school budgets have resumed, at least temporarily. This comes after a state appeals court on Tuesday suspended a lower court ruling requiring the city to redo its budget.
The appeal was the latest in a controversy over school funding that has turned Mayor Eric Adams against the city council and sparked outrage among teachers and educators. It set the stage for a chaotic start to what was supposed to be a “normal” school year.
According to city hall spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield, the Adams administration is “delighted” that cuts the mayor said were necessary due to lower student enrollment could be reinstated. “We will continue to adhere to the city’s budget process,” she said.
The exact amount of the cut is disputed, with New York City auditor Brad Lander estimating that the cut was actually over $300 million. More than 1,200 municipal schools, or about two-thirds of the city’s public schools, will face cuts, according to an analysis by education news site Chalkbeat.
Many principals have opposed budget cuts for months, arguing they can’t be done at the worst possible time. The focus was to recoup losses.
Instead, principals say the cuts are forcing them to cut teaching jobs and reinforcement programs needed to help students recover.
“School starts in a few weeks. Our students don’t need a protracted legal battle,” said National Teachers Federation president Michael Mulgrew. That’s it.”
The Adams administration has proposed cuts because the bulk of the money the schools receive is tied to steadily declining enrollments. About 120,000 families have left the school system in the last five years, the majority during the pandemic.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio used Federal Stimulus Funds to bolster budgets for declining schools. However, the Adams administration has decided not to rely on federal funding, which is temporary and will be phased out by fiscal year 2025.
Teachers and parents argue that families will continue to leave the public school system if schools lack robust programs or if class sizes are large because teachers are laid off.
In July many teachers and parents sued the Ministry of Education over the budget. They said the department made a procedural error when it allowed the council to vote on the budget before the Education Policy Panel, a governing body appointed primarily by the mayor, held hearings and voted on the budget. claimed to have committed
A Manhattan judge last week sided with parents and teachers, saying the city would appeal the decision, saying that abandoning the budget was “precarious” and that the city “doesn’t have federal pandemic relief yet in place.” “I am forced to pretend that I am.” Enrollment numbers remain at historical levels. ”
The case will be returned to court on August 29, the week before the school year begins.
Laura D. Barbieri, a Justice Advocate attorney representing the parents and teachers who sued the city, said the timing of the next hearing would “further delay the ‘chaos’ the city repeatedly cited in its brief.” , prevent it,” he said. Principals, teachers, and parents cannot know what the school’s budget will be. ”