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City Provides $125M to Continue School Programs

BK Reader Staff
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M.S. 407 School of Technology, Arts, and Research in District 20. Photo: Megan McGibney for BK Reader.

City officials said they will provide over $125 million to prop up the public school system and so that various school programs can continue over the summer.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks, New York City Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) Commissioner Keith Howard and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Tuesday said $32 million will allocated to protect programming that was previously funded with temporary federal stimulus funds; $20 million to extend Summer Rising hours; and $75 million to prop up schools with declining enrolment. 

“We know that when we invest in our children's education, we invest in our city’s future. That’s why we are giving back to our young people and to their working parents,” said Adams. 

The administration will first invest $32 million to protect important long-term DOE programs that had been funded with short term COVID-19 stimulus funds. This includes:

  • Teacher recruitment efforts that are critical to meeting state mandated class-size legislation standards ($10 million);
  • Restorative Justice programming designed to reduce the reliance on suspensions or punitive discipline across city schools ($6 million);
  • Digital learning resources for students and teachers ($5 million);
  • Tutoring support for kindergarten through second grade literacy and sixth through eighth grade math education at select schools across the city ($4 million);
  • Computer Science education programs that offer computer science exposure, access to computer science-related college and career pathways, and build more inclusive access to computer science education for all students ($4 million);
  • “Civics for All” resources including materials, professional learning, and student-facing programming focused on culturally responsive civic education models where students demonstrate the necessary skills and disposition to protect and expand democratic ideals ($2 million); and
  • Parent and family engagement resources that support DOE’s “Family and Community Engagement” initiative, which focuses on parent empowerment and engagement ($1 million).

City officials also said $20 million will be used for Summer Rising to return for Friday sessions and extend the school day from 4:00pm to 6:00pm for middle school students. Summer Rising is the city’s summer program that connects 110,000 elementary and middle school students to fun, culturally relevant, hands-on experiences to strengthen their academic, social, and emotional skills.

In January, the Adams administration previously announced it would fund the program entirely with city dollars for the first-time ever since it was funded previously using exclusively temporary COVID-19 federal stimulus funds that expired.

Finally, the administration will invest $75 million to ensure that schools with declining enrollment — that would otherwise have seen budget reductions, which represent 15% percent of total DOE schools — will now receive the same level of funding that they were allocated in the mid-year school budget adjustment for the 2023-2024 school year.

The “Hold Harmless” policy — instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic — is a continued temporary measure to rebound from the effects of the pandemic and to ensure students’ test scores do not fall behind as academic recovery continues. This investment provides schools with certainty and continuity as they approach the upcoming school year, as they continue to implement “NYC Reads,” enroll asylum seeking students through “Project Open Arms,” and implement strategies to meet the class size law.