With 3 weeks to go before the start of the school year, it's still not known what the first day of school will look for kids in the largest district in America.
New York City's public schools are facing more than $400 million in cuts. On Monday, frustrated parents joined others in a council hearing to talk about DOE massive funding gap.
"You’re asking them to do more with less, it’s immoral, it’s wrong!" said one angry parent.
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That hearing was before the same City Council that originally agreed to slash the budget, but is now backtracking, pushing to restore the cash.
"Hopefully the mayor and chancellor joins to make sure the schools are ready to meet the needs of students in September," said Brooklyn City Councilwoman Rita Joseph
Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks are facing a tremendous amount of pressure. Early on, both said the cuts were needed to deal with shifting and declining enrollment. But now, the issue has grown more complicated, with a judge now involved after some parents and teachers sued.
The judge ruled the city's Department of Education must come up with a new budget.
"Our children are going to receive the quality education they deserve," Adams said.
According to the comptroller, the cuts impact 77 percent of city schools. Each school is facing an average loss of $402,000, and some stand to lose more than $1 million.
Leaders say those loses will translate into larger class sizes, fewer arts programs and getting rid of key staffers like guidance counselors.
"We need to provide teachers with the tools they need to support everyone," said teacher Dedra Levy.
Several people who testified at Monday's hearing urged the city to use unused federal stimulus dollars from 2021 and 2022 to fill the void.
“Where is all the money. What’s going on with it?" asked UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander said that "even at this late hour this is the right thing to do." Lander added that if City Hall adopts the plan to use the stimulus money, it still leaves nearly $3.87 billion in stimulus funds to use elsewhere.
For his part, Adams said that he’ll follow what the courts decide — leaving parents uneasy.
"If we continue with this budget, class size is going to balloon," said one teacher.
