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School System Faces Massive Job Losses, Klein Predicts
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2009
Modified Jan 29, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2009
Modified Jan 29, 2009
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New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein (not pictured) brought a gloomy forecast to Albany yesterday, pleading with state lawmakers to reduce proposed budget cuts and to give the city more flexibility in how state aid is spent. According to Klein, a proposed $84 million cut from the current school year’s budget could "really wreak havoc" and force school administrators fire an estimated 15,000 employees, many of them teachers.
The Times reports that the most "controversial" part of Klein's appeal was the request for flexibility with how the city distributes state money to school districts; without such flexibility, Klein believes schools serving middle-class children will suffer disproportionally:
When you’re talking about a growth time, giving more money to high-poverty, high-needs schools is a good strategy, and I’ve supported that. But in a cut time, you want the cuts to be equitable. I want to be responsible to all 1.1 million kids and their parents... If you try to constrict it and say, ‘You’ve got to spend it on new programs, not cover old programs,’ we're going to create more problems. You’ve got to give our schools more flexibility.
Klein warns that the city faces a $1.4 billion shortfall from its 2009-10 budget: $700 million in state cuts, $500 million in city cuts and $200 million comprised of salary increases and special-education mandates. Whee! The city will get $1.6 billion for education as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, but Klein cautioned that the money would "ameliorate" but not solve the budget problem. After the meeting, Assemblyman Herman (Denny) Farrell told reporters, "Whatever we do, it's going to be bad."
Tagged
budget
city
cuts
joel klein
nyc
schools
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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