The city Department of Education is getting clubbed with $264 million in budget cuts due to the coronavirus crisis, officials announced Tuesday.
The startling budget slash — which will impact programs ranging from early education to teacher training — is part of larger $1.3 billion spending drawdown across a slew of strapped city agencies.
The cuts include $100 million in Fair Student Funding money, a formula that determines how much individual schools receive based on factors like poverty and disabled student populations.
To shave another $43 million in costs, the city will delay the establishment of 3-k programs in four city districts that were slated to get them next year.
Sagging coffers will also save $67 million in teacher development spending that will “eliminate redundancy” and increase efficiency, according to a spokesperson.
The coronavirus crush will also hit several key elements of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Equity and Excellence initiative, including summer school programs and mentorship initiatives. Those cuts will total $49 million, according to the DOE.
While officials said the cuts are unavoidable given spiraling coronavirus costs, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams wasted little time in ripping the plan Tuesday.
He called cuts to the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program “deeply disappointing” and said its preservation was “even more vital now” given the grim economic prognoses for the city’s immediate future.
“During this unprecedented crisis, the City is facing incredible fiscal hardship, and must make difficult choices,” said DOE spokesperson Miranda Barbot. “Though cuts are necessary, the Mayor and Chancellor are focused on mitigating the impact for schools and educational opportunity for students. Our school communities have gone above and beyond to bring remote learning to life in the nation’s largest school district, and we’re going to support them as best we can.”