NYC Council Education Chair Mark Treyger and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams Criticize NYC Mayor For Schools' Repoening Chaos

 

                                                                 Mark Treyger

WILLIAMS, TREYGER  RESPOND TO ANOTHER LAST-MINUTE DELAY IN SCHOOL RE-OPENING
 

NEW YORK, NY - THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER MARK TREYGER (District 47)
250 Broadway, Suite 1785
New York, NY 10007
(212) 788-7045

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Contact: Maria Henderson | 646-891-8441 | MHenderson@council.nyc.gov  

NEW YORK, NY - Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and Council Member 

Mark Treyger, Education Chair, released the following joint statement after the Mayor announced another delay in school re-opening, just four days before the previous revised re-opening date of September 21 and after over 50 schools citywide have reported COVID-19 cases among staff. Council Education Chair Treyger released his school reopening proposal in July 2020. 

 

"It's obvious that in-person schooling needed to be delayed - it has been, as we have said, for months - and it's just as obvious that the Mayor's so-called strategy of bringing us to the brink over and over is misguided and detrimental. The insistence on reopening as soon as possible, at any cost, is a strategy doomed to keep students and parents, teachers, and administrators on the line only to pull a bait and switch again and again. The city needs time to increase staff, yes- but without also increasing safety measures, we will only see cases rise and time and lives lost. 

"COVID-19 and disastrous state-level budget cuts have put our education system in crisis, and the Mayor's lack of a clear vision and a clear plan are only deepening that crisis. There are ways to address childcare concerns, ways to better serve students most in need, but ignoring these methods in favor of a broad reopening by an ever-shifting date has only created more chaos, including for parents whose own plans rely on a City that doesn't have one. 

"The City needs to utilize this extra time, as they should have all along, to order and review the supply of technology devices available for students and staff. Remote learning will always be part of this school year, and all students should have access to quality technology, regardless of their zip code.

"The Mayor argues that the plan changes only as the reality does, but fails to accept the self-evident reality that the safest, smartest choice has always been to open the school year remotely before phasing in in-person learning as safety standards - not a schedule - warrant."

THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER MARK TREYGER (District 47)
250 Broadway, Suite 1785
New York, NY 10007
(212) 788-7045

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Contact: Maria Henderson | 646-891-8441 | MHenderson@council.nyc.gov


IBO Report Confirms Council Education Chair Treyger’s Assertion that NYSED & CDC School Reopening Guidance Adds Millions in New Weekly Costs for NYC Schools

A Report Released by the Independent Budget Office (IBO) Illustrates Staggering Cost Estimates to Meet New Health Guidelines Related to COVID-19

BROOKLYN, NY (September 17, 2020) -- Today, the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) released its findings for the additional weekly cost of operating New York City’s public schools while complying with New York State public health and education guidance prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Council Education Chair Mark Treyger requested the independent report from the IBO in July 2020. The new report projects that the additional costs could increase to $32 million per week across multiple city agencies. The IBO was unable to account for childcare provided by Learning Bridges; increased costs borne by community-based early childhood education providers; or additional capital expenditures, like HVAC upgrades, new technology purchases, and air filtration systems. All of these costs will likely significantly increase the cost of school reopening.

Many of the new expense estimates are directly correlated with implementing and adhering to new NYSED and CDC safety guidance measures for school reopening, as well as the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) school reopening plan that was submitted to the State. Council Education Chair Treyger identified that reopening schools would likely incur additional costs in his school reopening white paper, and the IBO has confirmed that in their recent case study. In order to execute a safe and functional reopening of the largest school system in the nation, it is crucial that the City examines additional funding sources to meet the new costs that schools did not have last year.

Critically, the IBO does not identify a funding stream for these additional expenditures. With the decision by the Trump Administration to limit the City's ability to obtain federal reimbursement for PPE and cleaning, and the financial crisis experienced by the City and the State, the IBO acknowledges the expectation that some of these expenditures will be paid for using existing school budgets, possibly reducing other school-based programming.

Highlights from the IBO report include:

* $20,391,900 is the cost of additional teachers and nurses needed per week, over 60% of the additional costs to operate NYC schools. As many large schools are now pivoting to having students learn virtually within the school building, and teachers being asked to teach remote and in-person students simultaneously, it is clear that these additional staffing costs represent a crisis for a hybrid model.

* IBO expects the cost of PPE across all school-based staff to total $2.8 million each week, with more than 941,000 masks comprising $1.7 million of that cost. This includes masks for all school-based staff, students, school bus employees, school bus riders, custodial staff, and school food employees. Additional costs are for other PPE, including gloves and face shields, for employees who are in close contact with students, such as school nurses and special education paraprofessionals.

* Custodial costs—including spending for PPE, custodial supplies, and labor costs associated with the extra cleaning—will total nearly $6 million a week and account for more than 17 percent of the additional costs. Thus far, DOE has stated that they expect this cleaning to be completed using existing custodial budgets, at the expense of other work, including routine maintenance.

* Transportation costs would be significantly higher if DOE is forced to add buses in order to comply with social distancing requirements or if DOE has to reimburse parents for alternate methods of transportation.

* Total costs could increase based on capital upgrades, such as costs for upgrading HVAC systems, purchasing air filters for classrooms, and purchasing additional tablets and hotspots to meet students’ technology needs.

“I continue to reiterate to my colleagues in government that, in order to safely reopen our city’s schools, we have to identify new funding to address the extraordinary new costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new IBO estimates, in concert with the ever-changing guidance from the DOE as it struggles to operate within existing resources, demonstrate the extent of the need,” said Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education. “With federal aid unlikely to arrive any time soon, the State and City must act. The Governor has paused his disastrous 20% cuts to education aid, but only temporarily. I have been very clear: the City needs long-term borrowing authority, and additional funding from the State to safely reopen schools. We cannot reopen schools before it is safe to do so."

You can access the NYC Independent Budget Office full report on School Reopening Cost Estimates here.