Layoffs debated in DOE budget
By Michael Lanza, Assistant Editor
Published 6/18/2009 in Queens Chronicle

Thousands of support jobs and hundreds of after-school programs may be eliminated through budget cuts after the Department of Education announced its plan to close a more than $400 million deficit.

Officials were on hand to explain the cuts during last Thursday’s Queens Parent Advisory Board meeting at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
Sandy Brawer, Deputy Executive Director of DOE’s Integrated Service Center, said that while more than $900 million in federal stimulus funding had helped to avert catastrophic layoffs — initial estimates put 14,000 teachers on the chopping block — it was not enough to fill all the budget holes. He said schools will see approximately 3.8 percent cut from their budgets on average.

He said that schools were directed to reduce supplies, non-teaching personnel and cut after school programs as necessary in order to meet their operating budgets. By cutting from non-essential programs and personnel, Brawer said that schools can avoid teacher layoffs this year.

Dmytro Fedkowskyj, the board’s chair, questioned the wisdom of cutting positions and programs without reaching out to parents help before hand.

“This is free time for parents who want to dedicate their time to the school community, and to have the door closed in front of them — it’s a mistake,” Fedkowskyj said.

The budget cuts will also include a hiring freeze on new teachers.

Despite avoiding teacher layoffs, shifting the burden to other DOE employees isn’t without controversy.

Hundreds gathered at City Hall last Wednesday for a rally in opposition to cuts in after school programs. Stand By Our Kids, an advocacy coalition fighting the cuts, called on Mayor Mike Bloomberg to reinstate $6 million in funding. The group, flanked by local politicians, said that more than 10,000 students would be impacted.

“Cutting these programs would be devastating to the community,” said Steve Pullano, a retired Forest Hills High School teacher and director of teen outreach at the Queens Community House.

Pullano’s program started as a teen outreach project after police in the 112th Precinct expressed concern about young people congregating on street corners and getting into trouble. It now serves more than 500 teens from Jackson Heights, Astoria, Corona and Jamaica.

Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), who also attended the after-school program rally, criticized the cuts again on Friday, citing layoffs among school custodians amidst the ongoing flu scare.

“There is no room for shortcuts when it comes to our kids’ health,” Liu said. “The city must properly equip the men and women whom we rely upon to keep our schools clean for our children.”

Although the mayor and City Council hammered out a deal on a revised budget earlier this week, no mention was made of reinstating education funds.