Days before New York City public school students return to the classroom, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams pushed the administration to restore cuts to the city's education budget. In testimony to the City Council Committee on Education, he supported a resolution from Speaker Adrienne E. Adams on the issue which was then adopted by the Council following the committee hearing.
“Rearranging money is not the same as restoring it," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "Cutting the DOE budget has real, tangible consequences for our students. It looks like larger class sizes, reductions in the number of teachers, elimination of arts programs and guidance counselors, and decreased support for students with disabilities. It means schools that are not investing in what we know promotes public safety, including healing-centered schools and mental health supports."
He continued, "After all that our students have endured during this pandemic, we should be doubling down on our investments in schools to reduce class sizes, allow a greater emphasis on social and emotional learning, create opportunities for creative expression in art and music classes, and make sure our students have the access to resources we have long been asking for."
The Public Advocate's full statement on the cuts and resolution to restore them is below.
TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS
TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Good morning,
My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chair Joseph and the members of the Committee on Education for holding this hearing.
As cited by the City Comptroller, the DOE must restore a minimum of $469 million to the education budget. While the mayor and DOE administration claim that these cuts are unavoidable and simply a result of the expiration of federal stimulus funding, we know this not to be the case. We know the city has the money: last year alone there was $620 million in unspent federal stimulus funds, plus Wall Street profits and $8 billion in city reserves. I do not accept that these cuts are inevitable, and I am proud to cosponsor Resolution 0283-2022, along with Speaker Adams and many of my colleagues in the City Council. This resolution calls on the Mayor and the Chancellor of the Department of Education to restore the detrimental and unnecessary cuts that were made to the DOE budget.
Rearranging money is not the same as restoring it. Cutting the DOE budget has real, tangible consequences for our students. It looks like larger class sizes, reductions in the number of teachers, elimination of arts programs and guidance counselors, and decreased support for students with disabilities. It means schools that are not investing in what we know promotes public safety, including healing-centered schools and mental health supports. And while reduced enrollment is given as the excuse for these cuts, we have had, in the last few weeks, a major influx of new students, sent to our city from Texas whose parents and family members are seeking asylum in the United States.
After all that our students have endured during this pandemic, we should be doubling down on our investments in schools to reduce class sizes, allow a greater emphasis on social and emotional learning, create opportunities for creative expression in art and music classes, and make sure our students have the access to resources we have long been asking for. After experiencing―and continuing to experience―the trauma of the past two and a half years, our students need more support for their mental health, and school officials all over the city have emphasized this.
I look forward to working with the Committee on Education and the City Council on how to best provide the programming our students need.
Thank you.
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