The New York City Department of Education will not make further cuts to the city's budget this spring, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.
But unless city and state officials quickly take alternative steps, school systems still stand a chance of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid that is set to expire by this summer, advocates warn. did.
Adams said he would not move forward with a third round of budget cuts planned for city officials, citing higher-than-expected revenues and reduced spending on immigration. The two previous cuts have shaved more than $700 million from the Department of Education's budget for next year.
Advocates praised Wednesday's news but warned it would not reverse the massive cuts already caused by previous city spending cuts and the approach of a fiscal cliff as federal aid expires.
“We are relieved that there will be no further cuts to the New York City Department of Education,” said Randy Levine, policy director for New York City Children's Advocates. “However, we are very concerned about the current proposed cuts. We need the city to make a significant investment if we are to avoid significant cuts to our education programs in July.” ”
Programs that could be partially or completely eliminated if federal funding runs out include: The salaries of 450 new social workers will be covered by a one-time federal grant. The city recently expanded its free preschool program for 3-year-olds. There are also more than 100 “community schools” that partner with local organizations to provide extra support to families. Funds that supported school budgets are drying up as enrollment has declined during the pandemic.
Advocates for Children is part of the recently formed Emergency Coalition to Save Education Programs, which is calling on cities and states to come up with more than $1 billion in this year's budget to replace expiring federal aid. .
Last September, 160 community groups signed a letter warning of the fiscal cliff. There was some movement in January when Adams announced $80 million in funding from the city this summer to help continue Summer Rising, an academic and recreational summer program started during the pandemic. Ta.
But advocates say this is just the tip of the iceberg and worry city and state officials don't yet understand the urgency of the situation.
in fact, At a press conference in January announcing Summer Rising's funding, Adams said: He said he had “no idea how many programs were being funded by the stimulus package” until he was briefed by Chancellor David Banks earlier that month.
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Here's a glimpse at some of the largest programs currently funded by federal aid and what could happen if replacement funding runs out.
Social worker and school psychologist standing at the cutting board
Nearly $80 million in relief funds covered the salaries of 450 social workers and 60 psychologists this year as part of a pandemic response effort to provide mental health support to schools without full-time support.
Advocacy groups estimate that this influx has created social workers for about 194,000 students who previously did not have a full-time social worker in their schools. If schools lose the federal funding that funds these positions, will they scrape money from elsewhere in the budget (which is unlikely given next year's school budgets are expected to shrink)? , they will either have a “surplus” of funds and pump it into a central pool. I have to wait until my new school picks me up.
A Brooklyn principal who hired a full-time social worker for the first time to help with the pandemic says having a staff member who can focus on behavioral issues has made a “huge” difference, freeing up other administrators to focus on academic needs. He said it happened.
“I'm very worried about what will happen if we lose her,” said the principal, who requested anonymity. “There is no way to keep her unless we replace her funds.”
$160 million to support school budgets amid declining enrollment
During the pandemic, former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration suspended the normal process of cutting school budgets when enrollment declined, and instead used federal funding to stabilize school budgets even as enrollment declined. Spent $375 million on aid.
Adams began reducing that support in 2022, cutting $215 million from the “hold harmless” pot, leaving it at $160 million. His $160 million will disappear next year unless city and state officials replace it. And that funding would come directly from the budget schools use to purchase staff and equipment. If the school's enrollment increases next year, the associated budget increase could offset some of that loss. However, the impact will be felt most if enrollment declines or remains stable.
Expanding preschool programs
Mr. de Blasio sought federal relief to advance his longstanding goal of expanding the city's free preschool program for 3-year-olds in the same way he built the city's heralded universal preschool program for 4-year-olds. used money.
3-K's expansion has become more precarious with more empty seats, but it has still provided free preschool to more than 20,000 new 3-year-olds since the pandemic began.
If the city's current proposed budget is passed as is, spending on 3K and pre-K programs will decrease by $263 million next year, according to an advocate's budget analysis. Approximately $170 million of the cuts are due to the city's own budget cuts, which officials said only affect currently unfilled seats.
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But 3-K also has $93 million in federal funding that could disappear next year. The city's cuts alone could reduce the number of seats in 3-K by 9,000 to 15,000, according to projections by the Citizens Committee for Children. Even if the seats being cut are empty, losing this much money could make it impossible for some providers to keep the lights on at all, Children's Citizenship Commission officials said. said Director Jennifer March.
“It could have a negative impact on the financial viability of that provider in the long term,” she said.
The clock is moving forward because of another program
There are many other important programs paid for with federal aid. This includes 100 staff members working directly at homeless shelters to assist students with transportation and other needs, as well as partnering with nonprofit organizations to provide social services and additional support for families. Includes over 100 new community schools. . Recent efforts to address long-standing preschool special education capacity shortages are also in jeopardy.
City and state officials also have precious little time to salvage these programs. The state budget deadline is April 1st. Supporters say things are moving in the wrong direction so far. The city's Department of Education will receive $130 million less in revenue than expected due to an overhaul of the state's funding formula.
The city's budget deadline is further away in June. But reversing some of the $700 million in cuts that Adams has proposed in recent months will likely require an even steeper rise, as well as new funding to replace dwindling federal aid.
But supporters argued the stakes were too high for lawmakers to not act.
“We're talking to everyone at both the city level and the state level,” Levine said. “Parents who don't have access to 3-K don't care if they lose a seat because of federal, state, or city aid. They care that they lose that seat.”
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering New York City public schools. To contact Michael, melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.
