A budget agreement hammered out between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council came with some unexpected news: a boost to education spending.
But even as certain programs on the chopping block were saved, the education department now faces a fiscal cliff that all but guarantees an even tougher fight over funding next year.
The Department of Education’s budget is $121 million higher than the agency spent this past year. However, according to the state comptroller, the department also faces a fiscal cliff of at least $730 million in federal stimulus funds that will dry up next year.
“The Department of Education saw a significant influx of federal [stimulus] aid. The challenge now is that the federal aid will be fully spent,” said Ana Champeny, vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission. “With that running out, the city has to prioritize its critical programs.”
Initiatives including school-based mental health support and the popular Summer Rising program currently depend on the dwindling federal money.
“These are some really big programs,” Champeny said, adding that the department will have to closely review its spending over the next year to identify and preserve the services that have the most benefit.
Advocacy groups sounded the alarm about the fiscal cliff this spring as budget negotiations got underway. Citing the diminishing federal funds and economic uncertainty, Adams’ proposed budget called for shrinking education department spending by almost $1 billion.
But education advocates and members of the City Council said they won back funds for key programs including those that support more full-day pre-K seats, mental health counseling for students, outreach to immigrant families and the arts.
“New Yorkers spoke, we listened,” Adams said announcing the budget deal last week.
He also pledged to ensure all public schools received as much money or more than they did in their initial budgets, even if their enrollment is down – although…
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