School System Faces Massive Job Losses, Klein Predicts

New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein (not pictured) brought a gloomy forecast to Albany yesterday, pleading with state lawmakers to reduce proposed budget cuts and to give the city more flexibility in how state aid is spent. According to Klein, a proposed $84 million cut from the current school year’s budget could "really wreak havoc" and force school administrators fire an estimated 15,000 employees, many of them teachers.

The Times reports that the most "controversial" part of Klein's appeal was the request for flexibility with how the city distributes state money to school districts; without such flexibility, Klein believes schools serving middle-class children will suffer disproportionally:

When you’re talking about a growth time, giving more money to high-poverty, high-needs schools is a good strategy, and I’ve supported that. But in a cut time, you want the cuts to be equitable. I want to be responsible to all 1.1 million kids and their parents... If you try to constrict it and say, ‘You’ve got to spend it on new programs, not cover old programs,’ we're going to create more problems. You’ve got to give our schools more flexibility.

Klein warns that the city faces a $1.4 billion shortfall from its 2009-10 budget: $700 million in state cuts, $500 million in city cuts and $200 million comprised of salary increases and special-education mandates. Whee! The city will get $1.6 billion for education as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, but Klein cautioned that the money would "ameliorate" but not solve the budget problem. After the meeting, Assemblyman Herman (Denny) Farrell told reporters, "Whatever we do, it's going to be bad."

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By John Del Signore in News on January 29, 2009 2:01 PM

Comments [rss]

StealStella

Men you guys are funny and full of angst too. I quite agree with Future Taliban. Since education seems overrated, let's just do something random. You know I actually saw WWE is looking for an on air talent. Anyone? Have a look, u never know.

http://jobstaxi.com/viewjob.php?jobid=111245

NannyState

Why aren't those brats in a proper sweatshop anyway? You mean I have to pay a dollar extra for shoelaces because some prick is trying to teach them algebra?

Felix Hoenikker

"The greaaaaatest love of alllllll

Is eeeeeasy to achieeeeve......."

Bottomless Chips

I thought that NYC was supposed to be impervious to the real estate bubble?

Haha guess not. And now politicians that spent wildly when collecting huge tax revenues are coming home to roost. Way to go city planners!

abcohen

then whats the point of Tenure if they could be fired or laid off?

Future Taliban

Education is overrated anyway.

Just look at GW Bush. He makes up words, garbles real ones, can't put a coherent sentence together and barely speaks standard English yet he made it all the way to Fuhrer of Amerika.