Statement from Comptroller Brad Lander on Panel for Educational Policy Vote on Department of Education Budget

 

Comptroller Brad Lander released the following statement the morning after the March PEP meeting:

“Last night’s meeting of the Panel for Educational Policy was like a tale of two agencies. On the one hand I cannot overstate the importance of the Chancellor’s renewed commitment to expanding D75 special education programs so that more children with disabilities can attend schools in their local communities. The co-locations approved last night are among the first steps in achieving that goal and opening up new opportunities for greater inclusion of D75 students in our district schools.

“On the other hand, at the behest of the Department of Education, the Panel for Educational Policy voted on the Preliminary Budget in a premature and meaningless exercise.

“The Preliminary Budget is not the real budget—that’s why it’s aptly named Preliminary. The state budget, which currently accounts for 37% of the DOE’s budget, has not yet been finalized. We don’t know whether the additional $90 million needed for new weights in the Fair Student Funding formula will be added to the DOE budget or if some other valuable program will be cut. We don’t know how DOE’s enrollment projections relate to next year’s budget—which last year resulted in a $469 million cut to 77% of our schools.

“The Mayor will release his Executive Budget in April and the Council will vote in June, leaving time for the PEP to listen to public testimony and make an informed vote.

“Taking this vote now before necessary budget information is available is like grading a student’s final paper based only on their rough draft. Last year’s debate taught us that a more deliberative and democratic process for considering the budget for our public schools is needed. What happened last night was the exact opposite.”