By Graham Kates

When school principals got to school on Jan. 31, many were surprised to discover that their school budgets had shrunk overnight.  

The city Department of Education (DOE) announced it is cutting $100 million from school budgets across the city. That means each school will face a 1.75 percent reduction, ranging from $9,000 to $447,587 per school.  

According to Marvin Shelton, president of Community District Education Council (CDEC) 10, school administrators “went into this year possibly expecting a budget cut for next year,” but were caught off guard by the sudden mid-year change. 

It is not yet clear what exactly these cuts will mean for individual schools. Department spokesperson Margie Feinberg said only that “money that’s unscheduled or uncommitted” was removed from schools’ coffers.

DeWitt Clinton High School principal Geraldine Ambrosio says the department cuts “curtailed our spending on computers, smart boards and other enrichments.”

Staffing at the schools may also be affected. While Feinberg insisted there will be “no layoffs, and no staffing changes,” Angel Namnum of the city’s Integrated Service Center in the Bronx said at a recent District Education Council 10 meeting that the city was eliminating a “reserve” of funds that had been allocated for hiring 113 new English Language Learner teachers. Feinberg confirmed that these funds had been re-allocated.

In addition, Ambrosio said some of DeWitt Clinton’s class sizes will remain larger than expected, as the school has been unable to replace three retirees.

Namnum attributed the awkward timing of the cuts to the recent economic downturn, saying, “We’ve heard for a year the economy’s not doing well, the economy’s not doing well…Finally it caught up to us.”

Fearing the worst following the cuts, both parents and principals gave emotional testimonies at the CDEC meeting last month. Said one principal, who would not give his name, “When I found out, I was crying inside. Education should be recession free.”

Another principal contested an assertion by Namnum that the 1.75 percent cut would affect each school equally. “The intent was that cuts are equitable, based on size,” said the principal. “But there are new buildings and old buildings, and the maintenance of an old building costs more.”

The meeting became heated when Namnum attempted to cast a positive light on the cuts, pointing out that the city schools still have more money today than they had eight years ago. In response, parents and principals in the crowd yelled about the rising costs and increased needs of modern education.

While representatives of the city insist that the $100 million cut will have little impact on student services, Namnum did acknowledge that there would be a citywide reduction of over $4 million for the summer school budget.

This revelation in particular irked CDEC 10 member Nubia Moreno, who said that she relies on summer school for her son because, as a mother who does not speak English fluently, she is unable to assist him with much of his homework.

Feinberg confirmed the summer school cuts, but said, “Summer school will still be there for anyone who needs it.”

At the meeting, District Superintendent Sonia Menendez reminded parents and administrators that “it’s important to raise our voices” and let the mayor know that cuts are not acceptable. Menendez added, “In education, it’s more critical when you have to take a cut because it affects our future in our children.”