Chancellor Klein defends NYC school budget cuts to parents

November 11, 8:26 AMNY Schools ExaminerKathleen Byrne

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In a letter yesterday to the parents of NYC public school children, Joel Klein passionately explained his reasons and priorities for slashing the DoE budget a Bloomberg-directed 2.5 percent this year and 5 percent the next. The details provided in the letter seemed at times self-serving, but the overall tone of the letter sent home in students’ backpacks was respectful and in the spirit of openness.

“While preserving school budgets is one of our core values, the reductions we are about to withstand will not be pain-free,” Klein states. He tells us that most of the reductions will be in non-school areas, such as eliminating 475 “non-school-based staff positions,” a.k.a. DoE bureaucrats. As for the remaining 1.3 percent that needs to come out of schools directly, Klein is leaving it for the principals and their school leadership teams to decide which areas get fewer funds. Our school’s chancellor has been criticized (mea culpa) for freezing out parents in DoE decisions. Now he’s letting parents, through school leadership teams, do the unpleasant work of fat-trimming at their own schools. I don’t know if this is a politically brilliant or a pathologically manipulative move. Probably both.

City Comptroller William Thompson has accused the chancellor of voodoo math. Comptroller Thompson and Chancellor Klein spent most of this week sending fight-faxes about whether the chancellor’s office exaggerated its administrative cost-cutting. Without the figures and the expertise, parents have no choice but to take Klein at his word.

I blogged in September about the importance of school budgets reflecting the values of New York City families and putting children first. Klein’s letter made several references to “putting children first” and “core values” as well as the wonkier details of numbers and aggregate percentages. Klein promised to send us more information as details are worked out in the coming months. Hmm, a transparent accounting to parents of school budgets and an opportunity for us to have a role in budgetary decisions. What a concept.