Klein's Classroom Cuts Earn Ire of Principals;

CFE Also Protests
Klein's Classroom Cuts Earn Ire of Principals


Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced $99 million in budget cuts to the coming year's budget in a May 21 letter to all Principals.

JOEL I. KLEIN: Tried to soften the blow.

He said that with $963 million in new costs and only $664 million in new funds, the DOE faces a $299-million gap between revenues and expenses. The DOE has identified savings from non-school budgets of $200 million, leaving a total gap of $99 million which must be funded through reductions to school budgets.

'Minimized Impact on Schools'

"Our first priority has been minimizing the impact on schools," Mr. Klein said, claiming that the overall impact on school budgets is modest.

The letter was met by strong opposition.

"The Chancellor is asking us to sacrifice the Contract for Excellence funds meant to support students who have not received a sound basic education at the altar of 'flexibility,''' Geri D. Palast, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, said in a statement. "In fact, he is merely using these hard-won dollars to plug holes caused by the Mayor's school budget cuts."

ERNEST LOGAN: DOE should re-examine priorities.

In a letter to members, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan remained "unconvinced that the DOE has done as much as it could" for its students. He criticized the DOE for withholding $63 million in Contract for Excellence funds while the budget is finalized. He "strongly opposed" any outcome that would pit schools against one another and urged the DOE "to find ways to cut nonessential programs and put new initiatives on hold," as suggested by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn earlier in the same week.

Mr. Logan called on the city to refrain from cuts on the school level, and "keep their promises, just as the state has."

Disagree on Albany Approach

The city has asked Albany to modify its financial restrictions, including increased flexibility in allocating state aid, a measure both Mr. Palast and Mr. Logan disagree with. "Asking the state for flexibility in unconscionable," said Mr. Palast. "The state in tough fiscal times stayed the course and kept its promise of increasing funding to meet its CFE obligations. The city must do the same and not pit higher-performing schools against lower-performing schools this money was intended to improve," referring to the city's recommendation to equally allocate state funds to all city schools.

Mr. Klein said that since Mr. Bloomberg took office, the city has funded schools at "record levels." The city has increased spending on education by $4.6 billion, or 79 percent, during that period, while the state has increased its contribution to city schools by $3.1 billion, or 55 percent, according to the Chancellor's letter.

"We'll be taking a close look at the Chancellor's figures, and discussing them at [this] Tuesday's education expense budget hearing," said a spokesman for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "We expect the Chancellor to come to the hearing prepared to fully explain and justify his numbers."