No midyear budget cuts for NYC schools, a return to pandemic-era policy

In a surprise move, New York City public schools that enrolled fewer students than projected will not see their budgets slashed midyear, the city’s Education Department announced Wednesday.

School funding is typically allocated to schools during the summer based on the city’s projections of how many students are expected to fill their seats. That funding is then adjusted during the school year as a clearer enrollment picture emerges.

Now, though, the decision to hold all schools harmless from midyear cuts means that those with lower-than-projected enrollment will be spared from potentially painful choices about where to allocate their more limited resources.

Meanwhile, schools that enrolled a higher number of students than anticipated will still see their budgets adjusted and receive additional funding, city officials said.

Enrollment was lower than projected at about half of the city’s more than 1,600 schools and higher than anticipated in the other half, Education Department officials said. The schools with lower enrollment will no longer lose out on $157 million dollars that would have otherwise been clawed back. The schools with expanded rosters are expected to receive about $146 million in additional funds.

Principals learned of the news in a Wednesday email from schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, offering a breath of relief as schools finished class on the day before Thanksgiving break.

Read the full article here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/11/27/nyc-schools-held-harmless-from-midyear-budget-cuts-education-department-says/