The New York City Department of Education manages the nation's largest public school system, overseeing the instruction of nearly one million students and the administration of thousands of school facilities. This page covers CBC’s work on school system budgeting, per-student spending trends, enrollment fluctuations, capital planning, and the management of agency headcount and fringe benefits.
This page was created with AICBC Insights uses AI to group, analyze and present data and recommendations from CBC's publications. Always reference the cited sources to verify important details..
The City and the DOE should consider per-student spending and recognize that declining enrollment could yield flat or reduced total spending.
The City and the DOE should diligently manage the impact of enrollment declines in individual schools with appropriate changes in funding and staffing to ensure the smoothest possible continuity and equity of services.
The City and the DOE should identify priority programs funded by expiring federal pandemic aid and be transparent about whether the DOE plans to replace the one-time federal funds with recurring City and State resources or to shrink or end the programs.
The City and the DOE should evaluate and modify DOE programs and initiatives to prioritize those that deliver maximum impact to the target populations.
The City should create a robust public tracker to ensure federal COVID-19 aid, including funds allocated to the Department of Education, is managed diligently and its impact is transparent.
The Administration should implement a citywide performance management system to regularly review tracker data, identify problems in programs like those at the Department of Education, and hold managers accountable.
The Mayor should establish a COVID Federal Aid Tracking Working Group to develop metrics for subject areas, including Education, to ensure resources are effectively monitored.
The tracker should identify specific programs being funded, such as the Department of Education's special education and afterschool initiatives, to clearly show where resources are allocated.
The tracker should include performance goals and metrics for program inputs, outputs, outcomes, quality, and efficiency to measure the impact of Department of Education spending.
Key Data
In fiscal year 2024, the DOE accounted for 62 percent of the City's total on-board headcount, though its own headcount declined by 3,113 (2 percent) between fiscal years 2019 and 2024 (November 2024).
The DOE is one of only seven departments out of 50 included in the 2023 Mayor's Management Report that has more outcome, quality, and efficiency indicators than measures of inputs, process, and outputs (October 2024).
More than one-quarter (28 percent) of the total recurring value of the fiscal year 2024 Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) came from re-estimating the cost of DOE fringe benefits (May 2023).
In fiscal year 2023, the Department of Education's (DOE) budget totaled $36.9 billion, which included a $31.2 billion agency operating budget plus $5.6 billion for centrally allocated costs like pensions and debt service (April 2023).
K-12 DOE enrollment declined by more than 141,000 students between school years 2015-16 and 2021-22, with the largest losses of 90,000 students occurring during the pandemic (April 2023).
Mayoral candidates emphasize the need for significant improvements in the Department of Education, focusing on addressing inefficiency, corruption, and waste while ensuring funds reach the classroom. Proposals include downsizing bureaucracy, achieving class size mandates, and ending outsourcing to better serve students and communities.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The city can secure big savings by ending DOE curriculum outsourcing.
The Department of Education needs improvement with regard to inefficiency, corruption & waste.
The city must downsize DOE bureaucracy to improve efficiency.
The School Construction Authority needs to address efficiency to achieve class size law mandates.
The city must stop the cycles of crisis and underinvestment in the Department of Education.
Key Data
$38K
— New York City already spends over $38K per student.
14%
— Education's share of the current Ten-Year Capital Strategy for Fiscal Years 2026-2035 is 14%.
New York City's total on-board headcount reached 306,248 at the end of fiscal year 2024, with the Department of Education and Police Department accounting for 62% of that total. Between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, the Department of Education saw its on-board headcount decline by 3,113 employees, or 2%.
Key Data
62%
— Employees at the Department of Education and Police Department comprised 62% of City on-board headcount in fiscal year 2024.
3,113
— Between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, Department of Education on-board headcount declined 3,113.
2%
— Between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, Department of Education on-board headcount declined 2%.
The Mayor's Management Report currently focuses on inputs and outputs rather than outcomes, and the City should improve the report by adding outcome-based metrics, including for K-12 education. While the Department of Education is one of the few agencies that currently reports on the quality of its services, the City should expand these types of performance measures across all agencies to better assess cost-effectiveness and resident satisfaction.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
Metrics for K-12 education, mental health, housing, and other means-tested programs should include additional short- and long-term outcome indicators to demonstrate whether the programs are solving their target problems or delivering intended results.
The City should add outcome, quality, and efficiency metrics that demonstrate how well the City is doing its work, including for the Department of Education.
The City should provide more granular expenditure data that tie to specific groups of metrics to better assess the Department of Education's performance.
The City should conduct a periodic, statistically valid and representative resident feedback survey to better evaluate the quality of Department of Education services.
The City should include more performance targets when possible and appropriate to better assess the Department of Education's progress.
$39.5 billion is spent by NYC annually to educate our students. The New York City Public Schools has an enormous and challenging task: educate and develop 900,000 students from a wide diversity of backgrounds and needs. Are we getting the return we need on our dollars? How are our students…
New York State Budget Fiscal Year 2024 Major Actions and Fiscal Risks As of First Quarter Update New York City Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget and Outlook
The NYC FY 2024 Executive Budget includes a significant reduction in the Department of Education's fringe benefit costs, which accounts for over one-quarter of the total savings initiative. While these re-estimates help narrow the budget gap, the city still faces substantial long-term financial challenges that require more effective efficiency measures.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should shift vacancies to where they are most needed and take steps to aggressively reform how it hires, especially for critical functions within the Department of Education.
Future budget actions should focus much more on prioritizing impactful programs and restructuring operations to preserve services, particularly within the Department of Education.
The City should implement additional PEGs that focus on improving efficiency—reducing costs without reducing services—to address the budget gaps affecting the Department of Education.
Key Data
28 percent
— Percentage of the entire Executive Budget PEG that comes from re-estimating Department of Education fringe benefit costs.
$4.6 billion
— Amount budgeted for Department of Education fringe benefits in fiscal year 2024 after the PEG reduction.
11.6 percent
— Rate at which Department of Education fringe benefits were budgeted to grow before the PEG reduction.
3.2 percent
— Average annual increase in actual Department of Education fringe benefit spending over the past decade.
New York City's Department of Education budget reached $36.9 billion in fiscal year 2023, even as K-12 enrollment declined by 141,000 students between the 2015-16 and 2021-22 school years. This divergence has driven per-student spending to $37,136 in fiscal year 2022, with the city facing a potential $12.0 billion budget gap by fiscal year 2026 as federal pandemic aid expires.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City and the DOE should consider per-student spending and recognize that declining enrollment could yield flat or reduced total spending.
The City and the DOE should diligently manage the impact of enrollment declines in individual schools with appropriate changes in funding and staffing to ensure the smoothest possible continuity and equity of services.
The City and the DOE should identify priority programs funded by expiring federal pandemic aid and be transparent about whether the DOE plans to replace the one-time federal funds with recurring City and State resources or to shrink or end the programs.
The City and the DOE should evaluate and modify DOE programs and initiatives to prioritize those that deliver maximum impact to the target populations.
Key Data
$36.9 billion
— The total NYC Department of Education budget for fiscal year 2023.
141,000
— The number of students by which K-12 DOE enrollment declined between school years 2015-16 and 2021-22.
$37,136
— The amount spent per K-12 DOE student in fiscal year 2022.
$12.0 billion
— The likely budget gap for the City in fiscal year 2026, including unbudgeted costs and fiscal cliffs.
$556 million
— The estimated fiscal cliff for programs currently funded by non-recurring federal pandemic aid in fiscal year 2026.
32.5 percent
— The growth in total DOE spending between fiscal years 2016 and 2022.
New York City's Department of Education faces a budget decrease for fiscal year 2024, even as per-student spending continues to rise due to significant enrollment declines. The city must address the looming fiscal cliff caused by expiring federal COVID-19 aid and evaluate program effectiveness to ensure fiscal responsibility.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should consider spending levels per student rather than aggregate levels and recognize that declining enrollment could yield flat or reduced total spending.
The City should identify priority programs funded by expiring federal COVID-19 pandemic aid and be transparent about whether it plans to replace the one-time federal funds with recurring City and State resources or shrink or end the programs.
The City should evaluate DOE programs and initiatives to ensure that they are delivering maximum impact to the target populations and modify programs accordingly.
Key Data
$37,000
— Spending per student in fiscal year 2022, which increased from $32,228 in fiscal year 2021.
141,000
— Number of students lost by K-12 DOE schools between school years 2015-16 and 2021-22.
$500 million
— Amount the City consistently underbudgets annually for Carter Cases that fund private school tuition for special education students, pupil transportation, and charter schools.
$321 million
— Estimated fiscal cliff in fiscal year 2025 due to expiring federal funds.
$556 million
— Estimated fiscal cliff in fiscal year 2026 due to expiring federal funds.
$41,069
— Projected K-12 per-student spending by fiscal year 2026, assuming continued enrollment declines.
The Department of Education currently has a 9.0 percent vacancy rate, representing 12,717 vacant positions, as part of a broader city-wide trend of high vacancy rates across most agencies. Rather than increasing authorized headcount, the city should improve hiring systems and increase flexibility in allocating and reallocating staff to better meet priority needs.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should increase the flexibility of its systems that control, allocate, and reallocate headcount to ensure agencies can staff programs sufficiently.
The City should improve the systems it uses to control and manage hiring and to administer the civil service system.
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services should seek to leverage technology and other process reforms to speed up the hiring process.
The City should provide greater flexibility to move headcount across agencies, within agencies across units, or to allocate vacancies agency-wide to improve the ability to hire priority staff.
Key Data
9.0%
— The vacancy rate at the Department of Education.
12,717
— The number of vacant full-time positions at the Department of Education.
22,376
— The total number of vacant full-time positions across the City after the Program to Eliminate the Gap and other changes.
302,600
— The authorized full-time headcount for the City in fiscal year 2023.
The planned transfer of the School Safety Division from the NYPD to the Department of Education was reversed, canceling the shift of 5,290 civilian personnel. Consequently, the Department of Education included $34.6 million in annual savings in its budget by eliminating 560 vacant school safety positions.
Key Data
5,290
— civilian personnel in the School Safety Division whose planned transfer from the NYPD to the Department of Education was canceled
$34.6 million
— in annual savings included in the Department of Education budget starting in fiscal year 2023
560
— vacant school safety positions eliminated by the Department of Education as part of its Program to Eliminate the Gap
The Absent Teacher Reserve, which keeps Department of Education employees on the payroll after their positions are eliminated, should be time-limited to encourage staff to find new roles within the department. This reform would help the city modernize its labor practices and improve fiscal efficiency.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The Absent Teacher Reserve should be time-limited, giving employees an appropriate opportunity and incentive to find new positions within the department.
New York City needs a robust public tracker for federal COVID-19 aid to ensure transparency and accountability, particularly regarding the Department of Education's spending on supplies, salaries, and academic recovery programs. Current reporting fails to clearly identify how these funds are used or what impact they have on students and schools.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should create a robust public tracker to ensure federal COVID-19 aid, including funds allocated to the Department of Education, is managed diligently and its impact is transparent.
The Administration should implement a citywide performance management system to regularly review tracker data, identify problems in programs like those at the Department of Education, and hold managers accountable.
The Mayor should establish a COVID Federal Aid Tracking Working Group to develop metrics for subject areas, including Education, to ensure resources are effectively monitored.
The tracker should identify specific programs being funded, such as the Department of Education's special education and afterschool initiatives, to clearly show where resources are allocated.
The tracker should include performance goals and metrics for program inputs, outputs, outcomes, quality, and efficiency to measure the impact of Department of Education spending.
Key Data
$163 million
— Department of Education spending on supplies and materials.
$83 million
— Department of Education spending on pedagogical salaries.
$350 million
— Department of Education spending on academic recovery for public schools.
$251 million
— Department of Education funding for special education including afterschool and Saturday programs.
$78.5 million
— Department of Education general education salary expenditures for pedagogical staff in fiscal year 2021.
$12.0 million
— Department of Education general education salary expenditures for temporary staff in fiscal year 2021.
New York City public schools spend more per student than most large urban districts, yet many students fail to meet performance standards, with less than half of third to eighth graders proficient in math or English in 2019. To improve outcomes, the city should optimize resource allocation, ensure schools receive their full Fair Student Funding, and better assess teacher performance and accountability.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should critically assess how resources—including federal aid for school reopening—are allocated across schools to maximize student achievement and reduce educational disparities.
Providing every school its Fair Student Funding amount, a student need-based weighted funding formula, is an excellent first step.
The City should evaluate the allocation of resources within schools to determine if certain approaches improve school effectiveness, such as the allocation between the classroom and outside-of-class enrichment or remediation.
The City should focus on how better to assess teacher performance and improve the system of accountability.
The Department of Education should determine if the funds allocated to central administration and district offices are the appropriate amount and spent on the appropriate functions to maximize educational outcomes.
Key Data
less than 50 percent
— of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in either math or English language arts in fiscal year 2019.
47.4 percent
— of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in English Language Art in fiscal year 2019.
45.6 percent
— of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in math in fiscal year 2019.
The city plans to transfer approximately 5,300 civilian personnel and $306 million in intra-city revenue from the police department to the Department of Education by fiscal year 2023. This shift in school safety oversight has faced implementation delays and will not change the total city-funded budget for the police department.
Key Data
5,300
— Number of civilian personnel the City anticipates shifting from the NYPD to the Department of Education in fiscal year 2023.
$306 Million
— Amount of intra-city revenue the City anticipates shifting from the NYPD to the Department of Education in fiscal year 2023.
The New York City Department of Education is slated for an increase of 1,500 authorized positions to support school re-opening efforts and the expansion of 3K programs. Despite this growth, the city faces annual budget gaps approaching $5 billion, suggesting a need to prioritize efficient service delivery over increasing the overall size of the municipal workforce.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should not increase the size of its workforce, including at the Department of Education, given annual budget gaps in fiscal years 2023 to 2025 nearing $5 billion.
Federal aid and current vacancies should be used as an opportunity to hire strategically to reallocate Department of Education workers to where they are necessary and restructure operations to prioritize efficient service delivery.
Key Data
1,500
— Additional authorized positions for the Department of Education to support re-opening efforts and the expansion of 3K.
147,792
— Fiscal Year 2020 actual full-time and full-time equivalent employees at the Department of Education.
155,062
— Current April 2021 plan for authorized full-time and full-time equivalent positions at the Department of Education.
128,795
— Current April 2021 plan for authorized pedagogical positions at the Department of Education.
26,267
— Current April 2021 plan for authorized civilian positions at the Department of Education.
The next New York City Comptroller will play a critical role not only in holding the next Administration and agencies accountable, investing and managing five pension funds with $248 billion in assets, and partnering in $13 billion City debt issuance, but also in spotlighting and promoting New York City’s fiscal…
The Department of Education faces a $275 million reduction in City-funded spending for fiscal year 2021, representing a 2.0 percent decrease. This cut is part of a broader budgetary adjustment for the city's largest agency, which operates on a total budget of $26.6 billion, with $13.8 billion funded by the City.
Key Data
$275 million
— The amount of the City-funded budget reduction for the Department of Education in fiscal year 2021.
2.0 percent
— The planned reduction as a share of the Department of Education's City-funded agency budget.
$26.6 billion
— The total operating budget for the Department of Education in fiscal year 2021.
$13.8 billion
— The City-funded portion of the Department of Education's $26.6 billion operating budget.
Universal Pre-Kindergarten and 3-K for All have become significant drivers of Department of Education spending, costing $1.0 billion in fiscal year 2019, which represents 3.7 percent of the agency's budget. Additionally, the Comprehensive After School System (COMPASS) budget more than doubled between fiscal years 2014 and 2019, with the cost per student served rising to $2,821.
Key Data
$1.0 Billion
— The cost of the Universal Pre-Kindergarten and 3-K for All programs in fiscal year 2019.
$14,100
— The approximate cost per student for the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program based on fiscal year 2019 enrollment.
3.7 percent
— The share of the Department of Education's budget dedicated to Universal Pre-Kindergarten and 3-K for All in fiscal year 2019.
$345 million
— The budget for the Comprehensive After School System (COMPASS) in fiscal year 2019.
$2,821
— The cost per student served by the Comprehensive After School System (COMPASS) in fiscal year 2019.
Average pay for the five most common full-time Department of Education positions, including teachers and guidance counselors, increased by more than 5% annually between fiscal years 2014 and 2019. This growth in compensation was driven by wage increases and retroactive pay included in collective bargaining agreements.
Key Data
more than 5%
— Annual increase in average pay for the five most common full-time Department of Education positions, including teachers, education paraprofessionals, special education teachers, assistant principals, and guidance counselors.
In fiscal year 2019, New York City had nearly 306,000 active full-time employees with an average total pay of $85,636. Pedagogical employees, who work within the Department of Education, earned an average of $86,002 annually.
Key Data
$86,002
— Average annual pay for pedagogical employees in fiscal year 2019.
New York City's proposed $17 billion capital plan for schools fails to address persistent crowding issues, as the city continues to prioritize new construction over operational strategies like rezoning and better space utilization. Despite a citywide surplus of 55,000 seats, elementary schools face a shortage of 10,400 seats, with 57% of these facilities currently exceeding their capacity.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should implement operational strategies that alter the use of space and redirect students to facilities with capacity rather than relying solely on new construction.
The Department of Education should continue and increase its school rezoning efforts to balance enrollment across buildings and districts.
Programs that attract many out-of-zone applicants, such as bilingual schools and gifted and talented programs, should be sited in underutilized buildings to attract enrollment away from crowded schools.
The Department of Education should consider grade extensions and truncations, such as shifting fifth-grade students to middle school buildings with surplus capacity.
The proposed five-year capital plan should be revised to focus on elementary schools, where crowding is highest, and to limit new capacity to neighborhoods where operational strategies are insufficient.
Key Data
$17 billion
— The proposed Department of Education (DOE) Capital Plan for fiscal years 2020-2024.
$8.76 billion
— The amount allocated in the proposed capital plan to fund 57,000 new K-12 seats and additional pre-K and 3-K capacity.
55,000
— The citywide surplus of seats in DOE school buildings as of the 2016-2017 school year.
21,500
— The shortage of seats in Queens, representing the most acute crowding problem in the city.
10,400
— The number of fewer seats available than there are students in elementary schools citywide.
57%
— The percentage of elementary schools that exceed their capacity.
The 2019 Charter Revision Commission's mandate and criteria for amending the New York City Charter include a goal to simplify the document, which currently contains overly detailed provisions regarding the Department of Education. These specific requirements, such as those for class size reporting and security cameras, should be removed to reduce the need for constant legislative revision.
The NYC Money Meter dashboard provides transparency into agency spending and performance, but the Budget Function Analysis (BFA) currently excludes major agencies like the Department of Education. Expanding the BFA to include these critical departments would improve the transparency and usability of the city's budget reporting.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The BFA should be expanded to cover more agencies, including the Department of Education, which is currently excluded from the report.
The Absent Teacher Reserve, a pool of teachers without permanent classroom assignments who continue to receive full pay, costs the city $136 million annually. To address this, the city should utilize upcoming labor negotiations to implement reforms, such as capping the time teachers can remain in the reserve to six months.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should pursue reforms to the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR), such as a six-month time limit, in upcoming labor negotiations with the UFT.
The City should use this round of negotiations to constrain, or preferably eliminate, the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR).
Time in the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) should be capped at six months.
Key Data
$136 million
— Cost of the Absent Teacher Reserve at the beginning of the 2018 school year.
1,202
— Number of employees in the Absent Teacher Reserve at the beginning of the 2018 school year.
$98,126
— Average salary of teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve.
18 years
— Average years of service for teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve.
$50,000
— Lump sum payment offered to Absent Teacher Reserve teachers for resigning or retiring in the 2018 separation incentive.
170
— Number of teachers who took advantage of the 2018 separation incentive.
The School Bus Grant Program, which provides financial support to firms without employee protections, should be rejected because it circumvents competitive bidding and increases costs to taxpayers. Instead, the city should rebid all pupil transportation contracts to foster competition and generate savings to offset the costs of reinstating employee protections.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City Council should reject the grant program, which circumvents the public procurement process and increases costs to taxpayers without enhancing services.
The City Council should call for the de Blasio Administration to find savings in pupil transportation, which will cost $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2018.
All new school bus contracts should be awarded with an eye toward realizing savings in the costs of pupil transportation, which have now grown to more than $1.2 billion annually.
Pupil transportation contracts should be rebid with the goal of generating savings to offset the increased costs incurred from the restoration of the EPPs.
As the City Council increases its investigation and oversight of major city services, finding savings in pupil transportation should be a priority.
Key Data
$42 million
— Proposed spending in fiscal year 2018 to extend the School Bus Grant Program for a fourth year.
$1.1 billion
— Cost of pupil transportation in fiscal year 2018.
$1.2 billion
— Annual cost of pupil transportation contracts.
$28 million
— Cost of the School Bus Grant program in fiscal year 2015, its first year.
$136 million
— Total four-year cost of the School Bus Grant program.
$400 million
— Savings generated by rebidding school bus contracts in 2012.
The New York City Fiscal Year 2018 Adopted Budget identifies the Department of Education as one of five agencies responsible for generating nearly two-thirds of the projected savings from a one-year hiring freeze. The budget also includes new funding allocations to address agency needs, specifically designating resources for education alongside other social services.
The Department of Education offered the largest efficiency savings among city agencies, totaling $59 million in fiscal year 2018, yet these savings represent only 0.2 percent of its $24 billion operating budget. Increasing efficiency targets across all large agencies to 1 percent of city-funded expenditures could triple the current savings program's impact.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
City agencies, including the Department of Education, should review their operations to enhance productivity and reduce expenses.
Given that many agencies are developing few or no efficiency savings, the city should consider reinstating mandatory savings requirements for agencies.
Agencies should aim to achieve efficiencies worth at least 1 percent of their city-funded expenditures to significantly increase total savings.
Key Data
$59 million
— Efficiency savings offered by the Department of Education in fiscal year 2018.
$72 million
— Projected efficiency savings for the Department of Education by fiscal year 2021.
$24 billion
— Total operating budget of the Department of Education.
0.2%
— Percentage of the Department of Education's total budget represented by its efficiency savings.
0.5%
— Percentage of the Department of Education's city-funded expenditures represented by its efficiency savings.
New York City's school construction plan allocates significant funding to areas with declining enrollment while many schools remain overcrowded, highlighting a need for better space management. By shifting students to underutilized buildings and prioritizing new construction in high-need districts, the city could more efficiently address school crowding and reduce unnecessary capital expenditures.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
In the 21 districts with available capacity, steps should be taken to match student enrollment to space across these districts’ buildings.
Significant reductions in crowding could be achieved by shifting students to different schools or moving schools to different buildings.
Altering school zone boundaries is often politically difficult, but it can save the city unnecessary capital expenditure at a time when the city’s debt service is growing rapidly.
New school sites may be most difficult to find in already-crowded areas, but these areas should be prioritized.
Constructing new capacity where it is less needed, without redistributing students from crowded schools, is an inefficient use of capital funds.
Key Data
$15.5 billion
— Total value of the School Construction Authority's amended five-year capital plan for fiscal years 2015 to 2019.
104,717 students
— Number of students over capacity in the 785 public school buildings identified as overcrowded.
46,000 seats
— Total amount of extra capacity available citywide in public school buildings.
$251 million
— Cost to fund more than 2,500 new seats in District 13, despite projected enrollment declines.
46 percent
— Portion of school buildings that have unused capacity.
The 2016 Mayor's Management Report evaluates various city administration priorities, such as fire response times and housing supply, but it does not provide specific data or policy recommendations regarding the Department of Education.
New York City public high school graduation rates improved from 62.7% in 2009 to 70.5% in 2015, while the share of students prepared for college and careers rose to 34.6%. Despite a $1.2 billion increase in funding and the addition of 2,734 staff members, these resources were primarily allocated to universal pre-kindergarten and special education rather than high school performance initiatives.
Key Data
62.7%
— Four-year graduation rate in New York City public high schools in fiscal year 2009.
70.5%
— Four-year graduation rate in New York City public high schools in fiscal year 2015.
31%
— Percent of high school students who graduated ready for college and careers in fiscal year 2013.
34.6%
— Percent of high school students who graduated ready for college and careers in fiscal year 2015.
$1.2 Billion
— Increase in Department of Education funding for the 2015-2016 school year.
$21.0 Billion
— Department of Education funding level prior to the 2015-2016 increase.
New York City public schools have sufficient overall capacity for current enrollment, yet significant crowding persists in specific districts and elementary schools while other buildings remain underutilized. Rather than relying solely on new construction, the city should prioritize space management solutions that better utilize existing facilities to address these localized capacity issues.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
Policymakers should prioritize shifting students to different schools or moving schools to different buildings to address crowding faster and without unnecessary capital expenditure.
The Department of Education should implement space management solutions that take advantage of existing unused space to adequately meet the needs of the 1 million students in the city’s public school system.
Key Data
51%
— of students attend schools that are over capacity.
1.14 million
— students is the total room capacity of public school buildings, while only 1.09 million are enrolled.
52,000
— seats of extra capacity exist citywide.
109,278
— more students are in 784 crowded school buildings than they have the capacity to hold.
47%
— of school buildings have more capacity than they use.
53%
— of identified need is funded by the 2015-2019 Department of Education (DOE) Capital Plan.
The Department of Education accounts for half of the city-funded expenditure growth under the de Blasio administration, with a planned increase of nearly $2.8 billion. This spending growth is largely driven by programmatic initiatives like Universal Pre-K, Universal Literacy, and expanded Advanced Placement courses, which have necessitated increased staffing and compensation.
Key Data
$2.8 billion
— The **Department of Education** accounts for half of the city-funded expenditure growth, with a planned increase of nearly $2.8 billion.
$863 million
— The **Universal Pre-K** program costs $863 million annually, of which $112 million is funded by the City.
8,210
— The **Department of Education's total headcount** is projected to increase by 8,210 positions, or 6 percent, between fiscal years 2014 and 2020.
1,215
— While total headcount grows, the **City-funded headcount** for the Department of Education actually declines by 1,215 positions.
$2,792 million
— The **Department of Education** experienced the largest city-funded agency spending increase, totaling $2,792 million.
(1%)
— The **City-funded headcount** for the Department of Education is projected to change by (1%) between fiscal years 2014 and 2020.
The fiscal year 2017 executive budget includes $217 million in additional funding for the Department of Education as part of a broader $1.2 billion increase in new agency spending. This allocation occurs within a financial plan that balances increased expenditures with conservative revenue projections and a $1.5 billion reserve fund.
Key Data
$217 million
— The amount of additional spending added to the Department of Education in the fiscal year 2017 budget.
The state's end-of-session agreement includes a $250 million increase in aid to nonpublic schools, a move that raises fiscal concerns regarding the reliance on projected surpluses. While the resolution of issues like mayoral control of schools is noted, the legislative process lacked sufficient time for public scrutiny of the complex agreement.
Key Data
$250 million
— The amount by which aid to nonpublic schools will increase under the new state agreement.
This presentation was given during CBC's Conference on The Most Important Economic and Fiscal Decisions Facing the Next Mayor , which took place on December 6, 2013.. CBC provides a framework for curbing expenditures effectively and provides 8 options for savings: Implementing health insurance premium-sharing; Consolidating union welfare funds;…
New York City's Ten-Year Capital Strategy proposes $53.7 billion in infrastructure investments, with the Department of Education, Environmental Protection, and Transportation agencies accounting for three-quarters of the total commitments. While the plan prioritizes rehabilitating existing assets like schools and funding new construction, the next administration must navigate significant debt burdens and the need for climate resiliency without relying on increased external funding.
The Department of Education accounts for over one-quarter of the savings in the city's latest Program to Eliminate the Gap, utilizing its $20 billion budget to identify efficiencies. These measures include renegotiating special education contracts to save approximately $100 million annually and increasing school lunch prices from $1.50 to $2.50.
Key Data
$20 billion
— The total budget for the Department of Education, which accounts for the largest share of the Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) savings.
$100 million
— The amount the Department of Education expects to save in each year by renegotiating contracts related to special education.
$8.8 million
— The revenue generated by the Department of Education by increasing the price of school lunches.
$1.50 to $2.50
— The price increase for school lunches implemented by the Department of Education.
15 percent
— The rate at which total spending at the Department of Education outpaced inflation between fiscal years 2008 and 2013.
The fiscal year 2012 budget agreement avoided teacher layoffs and fire company closures by utilizing one-time revenue adjustments and union concessions, yet it failed to address the structural growth of health insurance, pension, and debt service costs. Consequently, the city faces a projected $4.8 billion budget gap for 2013, necessitating future service cuts and layoffs unless long-term fiscal reforms are implemented.
Key Data
4,300
— Planned layoffs in the Department of Education.
$60 million
— Savings generated by canceling teacher sabbaticals and requiring excessed teachers to serve as substitutes.
The Department of Education faced the largest budget cuts in New York City, totaling $926 million, which included the elimination of 475 administrative positions and leaving 1,440 teacher vacancies unfilled. To prevent further reductions to priority services like education, the city should instead target pension fund contributions and health insurance premiums for savings.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should adopt a new strategy for dealing with hard times—one that spares education and other priority services from new and deeper cuts.
The 'all other' category consisting largely of pension fund contributions and health insurance premiums should be reduced with new initiatives to protect the Department of Education from further budget cuts.
Unions must be willing to accept changes in collective bargaining over health benefits, and wide support must be garnered to push the State Legislature to authorize changes in future pension benefits, which would help spare education from new and deeper cuts.
Key Data
$926 million
— The single largest budget cut, accounting for nearly half the total expense actions, was at the Department of Education.
475
— Administrative and support staff positions eliminated at the Department of Education.
1,440
— Teacher positions not filled through attrition at the Department of Education.
$204 million
— Savings resulting from eliminating 475 administrative and support staff positions and not filling 1,440 teacher positions at the Department of Education.
New York City's budget cuts, necessitated by rising municipal pension costs, have forced significant reductions in youth services, including a loss of over 9,600 teaching staff positions in the Department of Education. These fiscal constraints, driven by generous pension and benefit structures, are disproportionately impacting the city's 2 million children.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The Legislature must enact a new pension system for future uniformed workers that includes a minimum age for retirement.
Future uniformed workers should have their pension based on salaries without overtime and be obliged to contribute more during their working years.
Union leaders must agree to more cost-sharing for health insurance premiums to alleviate budget pressures on city agencies.
Retirees should be paying for a share of their benefits similar to arrangements in the private and nonprofit sectors.
Key Data
9,600
— Proposed reduction in teaching staff within the Department of Education, representing an 8% cut.
$8.1 billion
— Projected annual pension fund contributions for fiscal year 2012, up from $4.9 billion in 2007.
$6.6 billion
— Total cost of pension contributions to New York's taxpayers last year.
$1.2 billion
— Cost of retiree health insurance to New York taxpayers last year.
$1.6 billion
— Total budget cuts announced by Mayor Bloomberg to address the city's fiscal challenges.
New York City faces a $4.1 billion budget gap, necessitating reforms to teacher compensation and employment policies to prioritize student needs over job security. Proposed changes include ending pay for teachers in the 'Absent Teacher Reserve,' implementing merit-based pay, and eliminating the 'last in, first out' layoff rule.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The city should end compensation for teachers who aren't teaching, specifically those in the 'Absent Teacher Reserve' who should be compensated only for a six-month period while searching for a new job.
The school system should implement quick termination for unsatisfactory teachers to avoid paying them for years while their cases are considered.
The city should use financial rewards to attract qualified teachers in hard-to-fill fields like special education, math, and science.
The city should ensure that merit pay replaces seniority rewards to better align compensation with performance.
The city should kill the 'last in, first out' rule to ensure that layoffs are not based solely on seniority, regardless of teacher quality.
Key Data
$4.1 billion
— The size of the city's budget gap necessitating urgent spending reforms.
$100 million
— The annual outlay on teachers who are not currently teaching.
1,400
— The number of teachers currently paid to be in the 'Absent Teacher Reserve'.
$74 million
— The annual cost of maintaining the 'Absent Teacher Reserve'.
640
— The number of teachers currently charged with poor performance and other infractions.
three years
— The average time teachers charged with poor performance are paid while their cases are considered.
While the Mayor's preliminary budget for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 avoids broad tax increases and seeks efficiency gains across most agencies, the Department of Education remains exempt from staff reductions and continues to receive guaranteed pay raises for teachers. This preferential treatment raises questions about whether the department's status as a protected entity is justified during a period of significant fiscal constraint.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should re-evaluate whether the highly favored status of teachers and the Department of Education is justified given the current difficult fiscal situation.
The City should ensure that the Department of Education contributes to the Agency Program by reducing its staff levels among teachers or other workers rather than relying solely on reduced allocations for pay raises.
Key Data
$150 million
— Cost of teacher raises in the current fiscal year.
$500 million
— Projected cost of teacher raises in the next fiscal year.
7,000
— Number of teachers included in the contingency plan layoffs if State aid is reduced.
2%
— Annual raises for teachers provided in the new financial plan.
The New York City Department of Education faces challenges with fiscal transparency due to the incompatibility of its internal financial systems with the city's broader Financial Management System. Codifying the Comptroller's auditing role and establishing a firm deadline for full system integration would improve accountability and oversight of the department's contracting and procurement processes.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The New York City Comptroller’s role in auditing the Department of Education should be codified.
A firm deadline should be set by which the Department of Education must fully integrate with the City’s Financial Management System.
The relationship between the Comptroller and the Department of Education should be formalized to remove any ambiguity about the Comptroller's role.
A firm deadline must be established by which the Department of Education's internal systems must interface with the City's Financial Management System with complete functionality.
Key Data
$25,000
— The threshold for all Department of Education contracts, competitive and non-competitive, that must be registered with the Comptroller.
2006
— The year the Department of Education began working to integrate its internal FAMIS system with the City's Financial Management System.
New York City's budget structure often fails to align with program performance, making it difficult to track how billions of dollars are spent on specific initiatives like the Department of Education's general instruction. Reforming this system to connect budget appropriations with clear, outcome-based performance measures is essential for improving government accountability and service delivery.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The City should reorganize the budget to better track programs and program performance, specifically addressing the current disconnect where large units of appropriation, such as the Department of Education's general instruction budget, obscure specific spending.
City leaders should prioritize the measurement and reporting of unit costs in every service area, including education, to gauge the cost-effectiveness of government programs.
The City should develop and track desired results for every service area, moving beyond simple output counts to true outcome measures that demonstrate the effectiveness of educational and other public services.
Key Data
$4.9 billion
— The amount of spending represented by the Department of Education's 'General Education Instruction and School Leadership Personal Services' unit of appropriation.
31 percent
— The portion of the Department of Education's fiscal year 2007 budget accounted for by the 'General Education Instruction and School Leadership Personal Services' unit of appropriation.
$902 million
— The FY 2007 adopted budget amount for the Department of Education's 'Special Education Instruction and School Leadership - PS' unit of appropriation.
New York State can improve educational funding efficiency by eliminating aid to wealthy districts that do not need it and by addressing administrative and contractual inefficiencies in school districts. These reforms, including consolidating small districts and optimizing teacher time, could generate significant savings to better support a sound basic education.
Recommendations related to Department of Education (DOE)
The State should eliminate or redistribute aid that is poorly targeted to wealthy school districts that generate significant local revenue at relatively low tax rates.
The State should allocate funds in a way that creates greater equity in local tax effort by requiring a minimum tax effort to reduce the need for State aid.
New York City should reduce combined preparation and administrative periods for junior high and high school teachers from 10 to five per week.
The City should reduce preparation periods for elementary school teachers from five to three per week.
The State should eliminate sabbatical leaves for travel and study to increase instructional time.
The State should eliminate subsidized time for union activities to increase instructional time.
The State should implement penalties or mandates to ensure that school district consolidations are achieved.
The State should set caps on administrative costs at the 75th percentile to oblige higher-cost districts to bring their costs closer to the statewide average.
Key Data
$750 million
— Estimated amount of state aid currently misallocated to wealthy school districts that do not need the help.
$475 million
— Annual savings from correcting rigid administrative and contractual arrangements regarding teacher time and small school district inefficiencies.
$350,000,000
— Savings generated by reallocating teacher time to increase instructional hours.
$100 million
— Total annual savings from consolidating small school districts.
$26.0 million
— Annual savings from applying both administrative cost caps to school districts.
$672
— New York State's administrative cost per pupil, which ranks eighth among the 50 states.
The report outlines strategies for utilizing collective bargaining between the Board of Education and the United Federation of Teachers to enhance the quality of public education. It focuses on leveraging contract negotiations as a mechanism for school improvement.
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