Mayor de Blasio is treating $3 billion in federal stimulus money for schools like a “blank check,” according to budget experts.
The administration has provided few details about how it plans to spend $3.1 billion out of a total $7 billion in education aid from President Biden’s coronavirus recovery plan, critics charge.
The mayor’s proposed budget parcels out the $3.1 billion into four broad categories for school reopening — $1.4 billion for “operational support,” $850 million for “academic recovery and student support,” $532 million for “instructional support,” and $308 million for “programmatic support.”
“Given the lack of detail available, it is not possible to determine how the funds will be used and what value they will provide,” said Andrew Rein, head of the independent Citizens Budget Commission.
“With such great educational needs and full restart just four months away, spending billions of dollars without providing details calls into question whether sufficient plans are in place and whether the money will be spent wisely to give kids what they need,” Rein said.
“These federal funds provide great opportunity but should not be a blank check to be frittered away without accountability,” he added.
De Blasio announced Monday that New York City public schools will fully reopen for in-person learning in September — with no remote option for students.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer also expressed concerns about education spending.
“The administration will need to fill in much more detail on how funds will be used for these broad categories in DOE,” Stringer, who is also running for mayor, said at a press briefing Monday.
A spokeswoman for de Blasio argued that the mayor elaborated on how the $3.1 billion would be spent at an April budget presentation.
“Operations support” includes infrastructure updates, staff recruitment and school cleaning, Laura Feyer said. “Academic recovery and student support services” means direct aid to schools for things like tutoring, and “instructional support” involves a greater focus on literacy, Feyer said.
Finally “programmatic support” is to boost existing programs like the Public Schools Athletic League, she added.
The mayor and City Council must agree on a budget by the end of June.
Aside from the federal funds earmarked for education, de Blasio’s also been accused of spending $6 billion in federal stimulus money “like a drunken sailor” on big-government investments the city can’t afford and doesn’t need.
Leave a Reply