Budget & finance
The vote by the city’s 23-member board — largely comprised by mayoral appointees — is not the final step for the agency’s budget.
The study comes after Mayor Eric Adams decided earlier this year to pause the expansion of the preschool program for 3-year-olds as planned under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The proposals, which include figuring out where to build new pools, aim to create a stronger lifeguard pipeline in New York City.
The move could boost enrollment at CUNY’s undergraduate schools and programs as college enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels.
With the majority of the school year now over, school districts haven’t been able to apply for the grant money due to a lengthy bureaucratic process.
Success Academy, Uncommon Schools, KIPP, and Achievement First all shrank. Still, Gov. Kathy Hochul has pushed to raise the NYC charter cap.
For some DC 37 workers, the pay bump represents at least a partial acknowledgment of their crucial work helping keep the city’s school system running during the pandemic, often at far lower wages than other school staffers, union officials said.
Although schools keep a record of devices, city watchdogs have criticized the education department for having no centralized system.
Harbor Heights Middle School, which had just over 100 students before the pandemic, dropped to an enrollment of around 60 students this year.
Banks revealed the plan Wednesday while outlining the financial costs of lowering newly required class sizes over the next five years.
NYC has used hundreds of millions worth of federal relief funding for programs with recurring costs, including pre-K and hiring more nurses and social workers.
Adams announced that he will delay the previously scheduled cut, giving a temporary reprieve to schools who lost students during the pandemic and are still struggling with the effects of last year’s cuts.
Chalkbeat spoke with Judah Firestone-Morrill, a 16-year-old junior at Bard who helped organize the rally, about the students’ goals, and why they believe youth voices should be at the center of the debate over school budgets.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals showed a deeper commitment to addressing how the pandemic impacted students both academically and mentally.
Advocates say they will push for solutions to issues that have become more pressing during the pandemic, including funding, hiring challenges, and student mental health.
This final phase-in of Foundation Aid money “happens to occur in a year with the highest inflation rate since the formula began,” state education department officials said.
The $10 million initiative aims to help the influx of asylum-seeking families from South America who have come to New York City over the past several months. Previously, undocumented familes were not eligible for subsized child care.
Mayor Eric Adams plans to open 800 new special education seats for New York City’s for 3- and 4-year-old children by this spring. Hundreds of kids have been waiting to get into programs that meet their needs.
New York’s Board of Regents requested $1 million to hire researchers and get feedback from the public on how they should change Foundation Aid for the 2024-2025 school year.
For New York City’s nearly 30,000 students in shelters, getting to school is often a problem. Advocates are calling for an inter-agency task force focused on reducing chronic absenteeism among homeless kids.
As of this fall, the city had planned to open 55,000 3-K seats, but 15,000 seats are currently unfilled.
Hochul has overseen significant developments in education, including boosting funding for schools and signing a bill that aims to limit class sizes in New York City schools.
Both candidates have received big donations from those who influence New York’s education world — helping to paint a clearer picture of who is hoping to have sway over school policy.
Overall, K-12 enrollment fell by about 15,000, or 1.8% this year — a significant drop but less than expected.
There are still many open questions about how both would approach policy for schools.
The proposals would require either new funding or significant cuts to some campuses, both of which would likely face political hurdles.
Facing a budget shortfall because of enrollment declines, Soundview Academy’s principal made an unusual request to students, staff and families: Would they help market the school?
Many of the students are asylum seekers who have arrived recently from South American countries.
The results mirrored math trends seen across the country, with historic drops for fourth graders. But reading scores defied the national trend.
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