- 41 of 50 Council members signed a letter that they regretted their vote and were not told about the impact of these cuts. Many have since said they were misled by DOE who insisted that only unfilled position would be eliminated as a result, but now we know that at least 700 teachers have been excessed.
The City is effing nuts -- pretending they won the case. Ignored Judge's request for language for prelim injunction; instead they will consider modifying budget in Nov., but even then might have to make more cuts to move money around! Ignore reality & maybe it'll go away? Bizarro
What a morning! First there a huge rally at Foley Square, with parents, teachers and advocates inveighing against the grotesque budget cuts to schools. Tamara Tucker, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against these cuts, spoke first, and her photo at the microphone is above.
Tamara and I left the rally at about 9:40 AM, and quickly walked over to the courtroom at the NY State Supreme Court, 80 Centre St., room 308 so as not to miss our chance to witness the oral arguments in the case before Judge Frank. The courtroom was already half full, mostly with reporters and city attorneys, and soon would fill up completely before the hearing started.
Among the parents I noticed aside from Tamara were Tom Shepherd and Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, two PEP members, and NeQuan McLean, CEC16 President. Tom and NeQuan had also provided us with affidavits about how the public process in adopting the budget had been contrary to what’s required by state law.
Read it all at:https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2022/08/nyc-parents-teachers-and-kids-win-in.html
 |
| UFT Middle School VP Rich Mantel |
 |
| Is Rich Mantel giving Jia the evil eye? Maybe it's the sun. |
There are two interesting factors working here. The City Council and the Panel for Educational Policy, both of which need to be involved in the school budget. We know Adams has loaded the PEP with pro charter slime. The Council voted overwhelmingly for the cuts and Judge Frank, who also ruled for us in the MulgrewCare case, is forcing a do-over.
- NYC plans to end school-based COVID testing program this fall, source says ,” by Chalkbeat’s Alex Zimmerman
- How Adams' pals — and a favorite dining spot — link him to one of the state's top tax delinquents , by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta: A restaurateur with deep ties to two of Mayor Eric Adams’ close friends — and a connection to one of his favorite midtown haunts — is among the state’s top tax delinquents with an outstanding tab of more than $1 million.
- Comptroller: At least half of NYC cooling centers were listed as closed during weekend of July heatwave ,” by Gothamist’s Elizabeth Kim
Amid a raging debate over school budget cuts by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, progressive City Council members have been apologizing for their votes to pass a city spending plan that greenlit them. Well, they just might get a do-over.
A Manhattan judge said Thursday he expects to throw out the city’s school budget, and give the City Council a chance to vote again. The $37.6 billion Department of Education budget would go back to lawmakers for another vote after a group of parents and teachers sued to stop at least $215 million in cuts to individual schools’ budgets, imposed by the Adams administration because of drops in enrollment.
At issue is whether a sharp drop in the number of students attending city public schools since the onset of the pandemic should translate into less cash for each school to hire teachers, buy supplies and so on. Parents, teachers and politicians on the left have been raging against the budget slash, arguing that pandemic-battered schools badly need the money. The administration maintains that it’s only sensible that fewer students would translate into fewer dollars, and that the city doesn’t have an endless supply of federal stimulus cash to go around.
At more technical issue is whether the city violated procedural rules by using an emergency declaration to avoid a vote by an educational panel before the budget went to the City Council for approval. That sort of thing happens all the time, but now that it’s being challenged in court, Judge Lyle Frank said the arrangement doesn’t pass muster in the absence of a true emergency.
The logistics of how this will all play out are quite murky, but it raises the specter of a new budget showdown between Adams and his foes even as students head back to school next month. The Council could potentially vote again to allow the cuts, reject the budget, or come to a deal with the administration. A formal ruling from the judge is expected today.
Judge Says He Will Toss Out New York City School Budget
After parents and teachers sued, a judge on Thursday said he would give the City Council the chance to revisit the school budget and vote again.
By Colin Moynihan and Lola Fadulu
Aug. 4, 2022