The Trump administration sent a preliminary budget to Congress with massive cuts in education, environment, and foreign aid. Smaller cuts are proposed for most other domestic programs except for the entitlement programs of Medicare and Social Security. By contrast, major funding increases are proposed for the military, homeland security, and the veteran administration. This post will concentrate on the education cuts.
Donald Trump's preliminary budget cuts 13.5% or $9.2 billion dollars from the education budget. However, the federal education cuts are actually more massive for public school education as it's 16% since there will be an increase in private school vouchers and charter school funding.The biggest cuts will be to before and after school programs, summer programs, and teacher training. In addition, twenty departmental programs are also being either frozen or eliminated. Finally. Title II funding will be adversely affected as well. Check the NYC Public School Parents Blog for how the cuts will affect thee NYC classroom.
By contrast, the preliminary budget increases by $1.4 billion dollars for private school vouchers and Charter school funding.
Interestingly, the preliminary budget actually increases Title 1 funding but with a catch. The Title 1 funding would follow the student rather than the school. The result would be that both private and charter schools would try to pick off as many Title 1 eligible students who don't have major disabilities and leave the rest to the public schools. The public schools would experience a significant funding shortfall and staff layoffs due to the budget crunch.
The passage of the preliminary education budget is uncertain at best and final passage will probably result in minimal increases for the non-public sector and significant reductions in add-on programs to the public schools. The bottom line is that its tough times ahead for the public schools.
The amount of waste from the NYCDOE is simply incredible. Go into any large campus building. Five principals, thirty APs, five staff developers getting 2 grand a day, furnaces burning until June, security sitting around playing with their phones, etc.. The teachers have no books, working technology and extra large classes in extra small classrooms. The chapter leaders don't know the rules and the principals have no experience. The experienced teachers are ATR/subs and the inexperienced ones are thrown into the lion's den. Now Trump is going to cut funding. Who will the DOE cut first? Paras and the lowest paid and hardest working. Then they'll go after the social workers and guidance counselors. Then the DOE will offer a buyout to ATRs. Then the newbies will start to get cut. The very last that will be affected will be Farina's lackeys. Her position should be cut first and then every leadership academy principal in the system.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is enormous administrative waste in the DOE. Schools with 6 APs when 3 would be enough. Plus, the borough support centers. What do they really do? I don't see them in our schools. All they give me is a nice day off from teaching once a month to sit through a mindless PD. When the cuts come, and they are coming, I don't want to hear about para or teacher layoffs until the administrative fat is trimmed significantly.
ReplyDeleteThank god for LIFO laws in NY. (For now at least)
ReplyDeleteThey couldn't cut anymore from the kids, the kids barley see any of the funding anyway, NYC deserves all that is coming. Schools are falling apart, water is toxic, no text books, School aides doing counseling work and are the deans of discipline, teachers waiting years for backpay. Honestly I know its bad for all of us on the surface, but NYC public schools need a wake up call.
ReplyDeleteLet all hell break loose. The fat cats need to feel the wrath that all the little people have felt for so very long. Tic toc tic toc...
ReplyDeleteI've been in the trenches of the NYC school system for over 20 years. I have seen it all. I really don't think that things are gonna get worse.
ReplyDeleteFariña and her cronies need to go first.
ReplyDeletePlease notice that Trump was not elected Emperor of the Universe when he got elected POTUS....please notice (u morons who are hysterical at the mere mention of his name) that any of Trump's proposals must still go through the courts and both houses- as you see the current process unfolding before your eyes.
ReplyDeleteThus, the Trump paranoia was always a creation of Big Media, The Police State, and the useful idiots they brainwash.
What Im saying to any brain dead heads out there....I doubt Trump will get all of the numbers he's submitted in his Budget this week. It's a work in progress....children...that's how the System of Checks and Balances work.
NYCDOE needs to implode before it gets better. Trump... go to work !
ReplyDeleteThe biggest cut is to Title II programs which in NYC is used to keep class sizes from increasing even higher. https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2017/03/how-trumps-budget-cuts-will-affect.html
ReplyDeleteAll the funding at my school seems to go to an endless stream of 'coaches' and 'consultants.' Oh, did I mention WITsi, New Visions, Restorative Justice programs, PGC and a ton of other very expensive additions that now plague our time and sensibilities?
ReplyDeleteFederal funding to NYC schools is a mere 10 percent of the entire budget NYC spends on its public schools which is around 25 billion dollars a year. This is a small amount of money relative to the entire spending budget of 25 billion so there should not be any cuts but rather trimming of the waste such as boilers running rampant, less "non profit" organizations filling our schools with former high school students and so forth.
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