June 4, 2024 NYC Office of the Mayor
Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar, Strategic Initiatives: Good morning, everyone, and thanks for having us here today. My name is Ana J. Almanzar, and I serve the city as the deputy mayor for Strategic Initiatives.
First, I would like to welcome our colleagues and guests today. With us, we have our New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. New York City councilmember and chair of the Education Committee, Rita Joseph. Right here, yes. New York City councilmember and chair of Finance, Justin Brannan. New York City councilmember and chair of the Committee on Children and Youth, Althea Stevens.
We also have with us our colleague New York City Public Schools chancellor, David Banks. DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard. Our host today, Jeremy Kabinoff, Principal PS 184. Thanks for having us here. As well as a former math teacher, as I heard her talk to the students just a few minutes ago, the Principal of FDR High School, Melanie Katz.
One of the greatest joys of the work that I get to do is that I get to interact with the most honest and straightforward New Yorkers with our children. They're not afraid to let us know what they like, and certainly they're not afraid to tell us what they don't like. One thing that they all agree on, how much they love, how much they enjoy, is Summer Rising, and we all can agree on it.
In the mayor's first year, we expanded the program to serve a record number of young people, providing a full year of education, social interaction, and most importantly, fun. As the mayor often says, when we serve our youngest New Yorker, we're serving and creating and building a stronger future.
Together with Mayor Adams, our administration, Speaker Adams, and our partners in the City Council, we've done just that to ensure that every New Yorker, every New York City child, has the tools needed to thrive, both during the school year, as well as during the summer. With that, it is my immense pleasure to introduce the 110th mayor of the greatest city on Earth, Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much deputy mayor, and really thank all of you for joining today, and I'm going to continue just to say over and over again, during these challenging times, what the real legacy is going to show, how both these two kids from Bayside High School were able to really navigate this city out of some of the most difficult times from COVID.
It was unbelievable when we took office, what we were going through under COVID, to 190,000 migrant asylum seekers, to having to balance these budgets, and just the negotiation, but budget season after budget season, we continue to land the plane. We continue to figure out what do we do best for children and families in our city, and today we're doing that announcement of what we're doing for our children and our school system, and it was real challenges.
We inherited a fiscal cliff. There were billions of dollars placed in programs that the dollars sunsetted in 2024 due to COVID funding. Those dollars disappeared, but they were good programs. Long-term programs with temporary dollars, and the chancellor said it over and over again as we met that these programs are good programs. We need to figure out ways to get there with a hard budget director in City Hall, a hard budget director in the City Council, both of them coming together and saying how do we land the plane, how do we get it done.
Today the co-pilots have landed the plane on some significant aspects of what we want to do around children education. AA is no longer American Airlines. It's Adams and Adams. The plane is landing on the runway today, and we want to say job well done on the difficult aspects of it.
So I want to thank the deputy mayor, and we will continue to invest in children. We know that if you invest in children at the front end, you are not using unnecessary dollars on the back end, and that's what today is about. We know that schools struggled during COVID and coming out of COVID. We want to make sure that we hold them as harmless as possible, and we know what all the programs we're doing.
Hats off to the chancellor in changing our reading curriculum that the state is now encompassing. Hats off to those of us who suffer from dyslexia and the chancellor and what he's doing with dyslexia screening and how important he knows to get the children the early support that they deserve. I know at first hand what this can do, and the chancellor has really invested in doing so.
Hats off to Rita Joseph, councilwoman, who has walked through these schools with us to talk about the early childhood program and how important it is to us. Former educators, former civil servants know how to go in and improve the systems that they have witnessed that have abandoned and failed our children and families for so many years.
Today, we're giving back to our young people and to their working parents. We're investing $32 million to protect important, long-term New York City public school programs that have been funded with short-term COVID stimulus dollars. This funding will support teacher recruitment, tutorial support for kindergarten through second grade literacy and sixth through eighth grade math education, as well as provide support for restorative justice programming, computer science programming, digital learning resources, and parent and family resources.
We are also today able to restore $20 million in the Summer Rising program. Hats off, Justin Brannan, the finance chair. The Summer Rising program was sunsetting, sunsetting. Making sure we can find a way, not only to ensure that it stays in place, but to have the right hours was extremely important to this administration and what we wanted to do. We can keep our young people safe and learning all year round. Everyone knows I'm a big fan of all year round school, particularly with the summer loss and the loss that we saw during COVID of so many children.
Many children lost the progress they received, but because of what we did in the DOE under this chancellor, we are outpacing the state in reading and math. If I'm not wrong, a 12-point increase in math and probably a 3 or 4-point increase in reading showing that we are doing what's right in our schools.
Additionally, we know that our kids and families dealt with learning loss and trauma during the pandemic. We've made great strides, but we know we have so far to go. We are investing $75 million to allow schools and principals to proceed with certainty and continuity. The chancellor was on the phone last week and said we got to get them the certainty, continuity and stability going into the upcoming school year.
This $75 million will continue to add to our New York City Reads and to meet the class size law, but most importantly, hold school harmless, even with the decrease in population. We said we want to slowly address this issue by not hitting the schools right away.
Hats off to the council, the speaker and her team. They knew this was important. We agreed with them. We were able to find the money to do so, and so we're going to hold the school harmless. With the reduction in enrollment, it would not impact them during the ‘20 and ‘25 school year. They will receive the same level of funding that they were allocated in the mid-year school budget for the ‘23, ’24 season.
We want to be clear, the majority of this money has nothing to do with reversing cuts like it was incorrectly reported last night. We are protecting $32 million for programs that were funded with sunsetting temporary stimulus dollars. This is what we inherited, folks. We came into office knowing that in 2024, those dollars were going to sunset and we knew it without realizing we were going to have to spend $4 billion on the migrant and asylum seekers. This was a challenge that this team had to put together and fight against.
We're adding money, not cutting money. Hold Harmless means protect the school budgets at their current funding levels regardless of enrollment. This is a huge win. We're going to have to deal with this issue long-term, but right now we want to stabilize our schools.
We've always been honest with the city. We're dealing with some tough fiscal issues, but when you are able to sit down in the room away from the public noise and sit in a room with the finance and the budget directors on both sides, we're able to land the plane. This is what we have done time and time again.
Today's announcement builds on our previous investments in education, which includes nearly $1 billion for teacher and principal pay increases. We have to pay them to do the job. They were not being paid the salaries they deserve and we understood that. It also includes $514 million to protect programs funded by temporary federal funding and $182 million to implement the class size mandate that we are facing.
We came into office with a clear mission of revitalizing our economy, protecting our families, and making the city more workable for the working class people of the city. We will continue to do that. We know it takes a city to raise a child, not a village, but an entire city. The greatest city on the globe must do something for the greatest children on the globe. Today, that announcement does that.
Hats off to our partners across the hall for understanding that we can do this together, and we're going to continue to do this together as we take flight for the next budgetary season. Trust me when I tell you, AA will land the plane. We will land the plane. Thank you very much. Thank you, speaker. I want to bring up the speaker of the City Council, Adrienne Adams.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams: Good morning, everyone. It is a great day. It is a great morning. As the sun is shining on all of us, we are beaming right now because of this great announcement. My goodness, thank you, Mayor Adams. Thank you for convening us today for this very important announcement regarding investment in our schools and our education system.
I want to acknowledge my colleagues in government who are here today, particularly my colleagues who fight the good fight with me every single day. Our finance chair, Councilmember Justin Brannan. Our education chair, Councilmember Rita Joseph. The one who is knee-deep in youth and our Youth Committee, Councilmember Althea Stevens.
I also want to greet our New York City education DOE Chancellor, David Banks. Thank you so much. Deputy mayor, as well. Education, as we all know, is the great equalizer. It is our responsibility as a government to provide all students with access to a high-quality education and ensure we are preparing them for the future.
Today, our students are still struggling to recover from historic levels of learning loss and mental health challenges caused by the pandemic. Disruptions in learning have set our students back and have disproportionately affected those who live in low-income communities, and in temporary housing require special education services and our English language learners. They need our full support to recover.
That's why today's announcement to hold school budgets harmless, make $32 million in partial restoration for Department of Education programs, and provide $20 million for Department of Youth and Community Development programs is another important step forward.
Our schools need consistent investments that help them reliably offer our young scholars the education they deserve. The decision to maintain steady initial school budgets is critical to that endeavor. When schools can count on consistent aid, receiving no less than what was provided in the previous year, they can adequately plan.
Our council has been consistent in calling for funding for restorative justice programs because we know the positive difference it can make in the lives of our students. It helps them build conflict management and de-escalation skills, and it prevents students who have disproportionately been suspended and historically pushed into the school-to-prison pipeline from experiencing those negative outcomes. This restoration is a critical step in providing resources for those key programs.
Success is a community effort, and holistic support can help bridge the gap in learning loss and equip students with the skills needed in their educational journeys and beyond. The $20 million restoration for the Department of Youth and Community Development, which includes, as the mayor mentioned, funding for important Summer Rising, is another most welcome return for our children and working families. For many middle-class and working families, access to enrichment programs like this makes it possible to raise children in our city.
Families are relying on the city to provide programming like extended school days and summer rising that keeps students engaged year-round and supports working parents and caregivers. I can testify and attest to you all that, as a mother and grandmother, I know how hard it is to be a working parent and raise a family. Education and youth programs are essential to help families raise children in our city.
We all know there's still work to do on our education budget, including with our early childhood education system, but today's announcement, today's critical announcement is another positive step towards ensuring this budget fulfills its commitment to our children and working families across this city.
New Yorkers have told us what they need. We have the opportunity to give New Yorkers what they need and provide them with the support they deserve. We are committed to getting this right for New Yorkers. Thank you so much.
Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Let's give a round of applause to our speaker, Adrienne Adams. Isn't she correct that success is a community effort. Thank you, speaker. Now it is my pleasure to welcome to the podium, Principal of FDR High School, Melanie Katz.
Melanie Katz, Principal, Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School: Good morning. Oh, thank you. For the students, Zǎoshang hǎo, Zǎoshang hǎo. I am thrilled to stand before you today alongside Mayor Adams, Chancellor Banks, and City Council Speaker Adams as we celebrate this investment in the future of our students and the stability of our schools.
Most important, the $75 million Hold Harmless policy will bring much-needed stability to our school budgets. We know how to plan for next year, and we will start the year off strong. The additional $32 million investment to continue essential programs previously funded by federal stimulus is a testament to the commitment to providing a comprehensive and enriching education.
Programs that set our students on pathways to tech careers, civics for all, and restorative justice are crucial in preparing our students for the future and fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment. Let me tell you how these investments will allow FDR to offer our students, families, and staff the opportunities and experiences they may not have otherwise.
We can continue to provide tutoring, allow teachers time to meet and plan to support curricula, have programs for our families, celebrate our cultures, and enhance courses. We could celebrate times like the solar eclipse, support school plays, and the arts. As we speak, our students are taking the new Algebra Regents right now. Next year is a new Geometry Regents. We use these funds to provide tutoring, support our teachers in implementing curriculum, and for materials to prepare our students to be successful as we continue to respond to their needs. This is so important for our scholars.
These investments reflect the city's unwavering commitment to the success of our students and the vitality of our schools. By securing these funds, we are laying a strong foundation for the future. Our teachers, staff, and students can now focus on what truly matters, providing a high-quality education in a caring, nurturing environment.
Thank you, Mayor Adams, Chancellor Banks, and City Council Speaker Adams, the A and A, that works, definitely works, for your leadership and vision. We are definitely making strides towards a brighter, more equitable future for all of our students. Thank you.
Question: So about the Hold Harmless provision specifically, can you talk a little bit about if its for the start of the school year with the potential to walk budgets back mid-year, or if it goes all the way through?
Mayor Adams: Chancellor, you hear the question?
Chancellor David Banks, New York City Public Schools: What's the question specifically, does it go into effect for the beginning –
Question: For the Hold Harmless, does it hold through until next September or is there a possibility for a mid-year walk back for the budget?
Chancellor Banks: Well, it holds them harmless for September, and I’m certain that Adams and Adams will continue to work together to make sure folks are held all the way through the year, as much of those negotiations happen on a regular basis. I think the most important thing is that schools know, as they are now planning to open up schools in September, they can walk with a certain level of assurity that they will be able to have a full budget based on that.
What happens in the future after that, that's always open to conversation and negotiation. I think the big thing is that they will be able to plan based upon assurity and confidence now. Also, I just wanted to recognize Principal Kabinoff. Thank you for welcoming us here to your school today. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Question: Hi, Mayor Adams.
Mayor Adams: How are you?
Question: I'm Anita from the New York Times. How are you?
Mayor Adams: Good.
Question: You mentioned teacher recruitment. Have you got an idea of –
Mayor Adams: Mentioned?
Question: Teacher recruitment?
Mayor Adams: Yes.
Question: I just wanted to get an idea of how many teachers you're looking to bring into the New York Public School System.
Mayor Adams: Okay. First, I didn't mention teacher recruitment, but we are partnering with the UFT, our recruitment office. We know we need a full press. We lose principals. We lose educators every year. A lot had to do with we weren't compensating them correctly. We were able to give them an excellent contract with negotiating with Michael and the UFT. The chancellor has been clear with his team.
With the class size ruling and law, we know we have to recruit more. We are asking everyone to be part of this effort on how do we bring on more educators. We are even asking current reporters to resign and become teachers. We would love you in the classroom, but we're all in it together.
Question: You talked about finding money for the pre-K and 3-K programs. Where is that at? Are we going to do that soon? Are we going to hear another announcement? Is that off the table for this budget year?
Mayor Adams: That's why it's so important to point out what this partnership has done. The City Council, when we sat down and talked about the fact that we had 19,000 empty and vacant seats, the City Council came up with money that allowed us to go into those communities and really educate those parents on how important it is to get your child into pre-K and 3-K. It was crucial.
It just does not make financial sense to pay for 19,000 seats that our babies are not in. What the chancellor has been doing last week, and we've been working throughout the weekend, we are creating an entire mapping system to show where the vacant seats are and where the children are that are trying to find seats.
Our position has been clear and will continue to be clear that every child that wants a seat will have access to a seat. 94 percent of our children have seats. 94 percent. Then when you do analysis in 2021, those numbers were dismal. We have been successful in going out and finding the children and placing them in the seat.
The goal of the pre-K, 3-K is not just to say we have X number of seats. It's to say that we are placing children in the seats. That is our goal, and that's what we're going to continue to fight for.
Question: Mayor Adams, you made a comment a little earlier about some incorrect information just about money that was addressing federal stimulus money that's running out. Could you just elaborate on that and talk about why this doesn't have as much to do with the deficits created by the migrant crisis and other issues the city's given?
Mayor Adams:. Listen, the speaker and I, I don't really know if people know what we inherited. The speaker and I inherited an over $4 billion migrant and asylum seeker budget. That came out of nowhere. We had to deal with fiscal cliffs.
The previous administration funded permanent programs using temporary dollars. Summer Rising was a program that was sponsored by temporary dollars. The pre-K, temporary dollars. You could go down a list and the chancellor, when the chancellor showed me the first time, “Eric, all of these programs are, the dollars are sunsetted.”
In addition to the $4 billion, we had to find money for those programs that were sunsetted and we had to pay our civil service salaries like our teachers, our firefighters, our other DC-37 members. We had to pay those contracts that was outstanding. Some of them were outstanding for 13 years. Those are the dollars we're talking about. We had to maintain our reserves.
I don't think people fully appreciate what we were able to accomplish, unlike other cities that had to lay off and raise taxes. We have not laid off one employee. We have not raised any taxes. In any other era, we'd be talking about how masterful airline A and A has been. I'm lost that people don't realize how well we've done.
These dollars were gone. We were successfully able to keep maintaining, get the bond rating we deserve, and get the approval that we're maintaining the city moving forward and finding these dollars. It has been based on better than expected economic recovery, proper management, and sitting down and having two good negotiating teams both in the City Council and both in City Hall.
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