NYC won’t claw back cash from under-enrolled schools, sparing $157 million in potential cutbacks

New York City will not claw back funding from local public schools that enrolled fewer students than expected this fall.

“As our schools continue to serve our students, our top priority is to ensure that every school leader has the resources and supports to carry out their school’s mission and put our children on a path to lifelong success,” Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement Wednesday.

“I am proud that in direct response to feedback from our school communities, schools will not only receive funding, but also personalized supports designed to help them make the most of this funding,” she added.

The policy, known as “hold harmless,” started during the pandemic with federal stimulus dollars to stabilize school budgets. But as principals introduced new programs and hired additional staff, Mayor Adams has been under pressure continue funding schools at the same levels.

Adams tried to end the temporary measure early on in his tenure in 2022. But the move spurred a summer of political pain for the mayor, who faced crtiticism from advocates, backlash from the City Council that had approved the education spending plan, and even a lawsuit that ultimately upheld school budget cuts on appeal.

Last school year, the city cut the budgets of schools with lower-than-projected enrollments for the first time in four years. The city largely allots school budgets based on a per-pupil formula.

If adjustments had proceeded as planned this year, about half of schools would have lost funding midyear totaling $157 million, according to a press release. Instead, principals will get to hold onto those dollars for their schools.

Following the standard budget process, the other roughly half of schools enrolled more students than projected and, as a result, will receive additional dollars. In total, $146 million is on its way to those schools, the release said.

Overall, the number of students in the nation’s largest school district slipped this fall by just 0.1%, the second consecutive year the system was spared dramatic enrollment declines that were exacerbated during the pandemic, education officials announced earlier this month.

Last week, Adams restored two police classes and invested in cash and rental assistance programs, citing savings on migrant spending and better-than expected tax revenue. The Council has repeatedly questioned the need for the administration’s cuts.