An agreement between Mayor Adams and the City Council to hold school budgets steady that otherwise faced cuts for enrollment declines will benefit hundreds of local schools this fall, officials announced Tuesday.
Close to 250 schools, or 15% of the nation’s largest district, will see their budgets boosted through an extension of a pandemic-era program known as “hold harmless,” which maintains school funding at the same levels for fewer students. The city will spend $75 million as part of the announcement, the Daily News first reported.
“This is a huge win,” Adams said at a news conference at P.S. 184 Shuang Wen School. “We’re going to have to deal with this issue long-term, but right now we want to stabilize our schools.”
The policy will ensure all principals reopen this fall with at least the same level of funding they were allocated after students were counted during the current school year. Schools projected to gain enrollment will not be impacted.
“Hold harmless” was expected to end this year with the expiration of COVID-19 federal stimulus dollars. Tuesday’s announcement extends that reprieve.
Melanie Katz, principal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, said the policy “will bring much-needed stability to our school budgets.”
“We know how to plan for next year, and we will start the year off strong,” she said.
The Adams administration isn’t making any guarantees to continue the policy for the full school year. In a typical term, principals who enroll fewer students than projected have to give back money in the middle of the school year, while those with additional kids gain extra dollars. That process was put on hold during the pandemic to stabilize schools.
“The most important thing is that schools know, as they are now planning to open up schools in September, they can walk with a certain level of assurity that they will be able to have a full budget,” Chancellor David Banks responded to a question from The News. “What happens in the future after that, that’s always open to conversation and negotiation.”
On top of the extra funding for schools losing enrollment, Adams and the City Council allocated $20 million to reverse cuts to summer school programming, The News reported Monday. Under reductions announced in November, middle school families in Summer Rising would have faced reduced hours throughout the week and lost Friday programming.
Lawmakers also agreed to use $32 million to fund initiatives jeopardized by the loss of federal stimulus, including restorative justice programs — a Council priority. About $6 million of the $8 million officials said were being spent on progressive disciplinary practices at a budget hearing this year will be replaced, according to a press release.
“Our Council has been consistent in calling for funding for restorative justice programs, because we know the positive difference that can make in the lives of our students,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens).
A final city budget is due by July 1.
