Education

What really happened with the New York City Department of Education Budget?

The City Council has blamed the DOE and Mayor Eric Adams for budget cuts it signed off on and knew about for months.

Schools Chancellor David Banks and Eric Adams on June 27.

Schools Chancellor David Banks and Eric Adams on June 27. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Less than a week after the New York City Council approved the fiscal year 2023 budget last month, some members protested the funding cuts they signed off on and knew about months in advance. The council said that it was unaware the cuts would have such severe impacts on some individual schools where enrollment has declined, and has blamed both Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the Department of Education for the effects.

The department has said that the slashed funding is due to declining federal stimulus dollars, while Adams has attributed the decrease to a dip in enrollment. So what really happened?

City-specific funding for education actually went up this year. By how much?

The fiscal year 2023 adopted budget includes $845.5 million in additional funding for the Department of Education, of $14.5 billion in total city funds, compared to the $13.7 billion allocated in last year’s adopted budget, according to budget documents. The council has repeatedly said the increase is actually closer to $700 million this year, however that figure does not encompass several adds to the budget, including council initiatives, according to the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget.

How much was cut?

The total education budget, including funding that comes from the state and federal government, amounts to $31 billion in fiscal year 2023, down from $31.5 billion in last year’s adopted budget. State funding allocations this year are actually up by about $500 million, but federal funding dipped by $1.5 billion.

As part of the city’s “Program to Eliminate the Gap,” a total of $557.5 million will be cut from education in fiscal year 2023, including $375 million for declining enrollment. The losses due to fewer students is offset by $160 million in federal funding, however, amounting to the $215 million in cuts city officials have previously cited. These cuts were disclosed months ago when the mayor debuted the Program to Eliminate the Gap. 

What changes did the council and the mayor make from the executive budget that were included in the adopted budget?

The adopted budget included an additional $79.1 million in funding from the mayor’s proposed $30.9 billion budget for the DOE. Funding increases for general education instruction and school leadership, along with central administration costs were offset by reductions for “categorical programs,” which typically support specific student programs and services, such as professional development programs for teachers, bilingual education or breakfast and lunch programs.

How will the cuts affect schools?

New York City’s public schools have lost 9.5% of all students since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1,000 schools will see cuts in Fair Student Funding, the main funding source for public schools that is calculated on a per-student basis and weighted based on the needs of individual students and schools. Just under 480 schools will see an increase, Chalkbeat reported. James Madison High School in Brooklyn will see the steepest decline, $2.8 million.  

Hundreds of teachers have been told they can not return to their current jobs this coming school year as a result of the cuts, The New York Times reported.

Schools Chancellor David Banks has promised that all teachers who lose their existing jobs would instead be placed into the city’s reserve pool, where they’re eligible for other positions within the school system. 

Who is to blame for the cuts?

While Adams has said that the per-student funding formula, known as Fair Student Funding, would remain unchanged when accounting for enrollment declines, an internal Department of Education memo admitted it has “decreased slightly,” The New York Post reported. The memo attributes the decrease to a reduction in spending on teacher salaries due to a large number of veteran teachers with higher salaries leaving the school system. 

Council members have blamed the department for failing to warn schools about the cuts. Council Member Gale Brewer said in a recent education committee hearing that members weren’t aware the cuts would produce “this insanity of so many (reductions in the number of teachers) and so many excesses.”

Members of New York’s congressional delegation have also called on the Department of Education to dip into “$4.3 billion of unused funds from the $7 billion it received from federal stimulus money included in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.”

“Defunding education is unjustifiable,” U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman said in a letter sent Thursday to Adams. “At the very least, the City and Mayor Adams need to direct remaining COVID relief funds into our public schools.” 

With reporting by Sahalie Donaldson

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.