PHOTO: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer this week alerted constituents to an amendment, currently being debated on the Senate floor, that he said will shift major federal education funds from New York to southern and western states. Photo Courtesy of Senate Democrats
A new amendment, currently up for debate on the Senate floor, threatens to deprive city schools of $170 million by shifting a third of federal education funds from New York to southern and western states, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Monday.
Calling the amendment “nails on a chalkboard,” Schumer vowed to launch a “major push” to block any proposal that drastically cuts funding for Big Apple schools in the Every Child Achieves Act, which the Senate is considering this week.
Schumer, who spoke about the amendment on the Senate floor on Monday, indicated that the vote is now “neck and neck” in terms of support. He said the proposal would radically change the current formula used to allocate Title I money—the largest source of federal funding for elementary and secondary education—to K-12 schools. Without these funds, Schumer said that city school districts would be financially overwhelmed this upcoming school year and unable to provide critical services to students who most need them.
“As a proud product of the New York public school system, I know how great our state’s schools can be when given the tools, resources and funding to succeed, so I am dead set against any proposed amendment to abruptly slash funding from New York’s public schools, including those in New York City,” Schumer said. “This amendment would take a hatchet to crucial federal funding, which means New York City schools could lose out on tens of millions and for New York as a whole, that number hits $300 million. This would be a devastating cut that would punish millions of students and teachers across the state, so I will urge my colleagues not to support it and will do all I can to beat it back.”
In New York City alone, the five boroughs receive more than $703 million in Title I education funding. Without this money, Schumer said, city school districts would be financially overwhelmed and unable to provide critical services to students who most need them. If the program funding is cut under the amendment, the senior senator feared it could force some of the 687 school districts across the state that have long-received Title I funds to lay off teachers, cut supplemental educational programs, or make other dramatic cuts.
Schumer detailed how much each borough stands to lose, which in total equates to approximately $170 million lost. Queens’ funding would be slashed by more than 25 percent to $100 million, down from $133 million.
“It’s bad enough when Washington refuses to increase funding to keep up with demand. Threatening to gut school funding by $170 million is simply unacceptable—and it would have a devastating impact on our students and families at a time when we need these resources most,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Karen Alford, vice president of Elementary Schools for the United Federation of Teachers, said, “It’s hard to imagine any adult willfully depriving children of resources, but that is what the Senate could do by taking $170 million from New York City’s Title I funding.”
