Comments sent to DOE on class size plan, & news that some schools may lose teachers

June 25, 2024

1. We sent off our comments yesterday to the Mayor and Chancellor, urging them to improve their class size “plan”, which makes insufficient investments in staffing and space.  It was signed by about 570 parents, educators, and community leaders. Thanks to those of you who signed on! The full petition is here.

We will see if our feedback leads to any significant changes in the plan that the DOE submits to the state, which they are required to do by July 5. if not, we will share these comments with the state, along with even more detailed critique, asking them to demand a corrective action plan.

2. In other news, I have now heard from reliable sources at several schools that their budgets for next year will require them to lose one or more teachers, leading to larger class sizes. I have asked them for more details, as the DOE claims no school will see their budget cut.

If schools are forced to lose teachers, it may be the result of cuts to Fair student funding that are larger than the increases in other categories that can be used to pay teachers. It is also true that at many schools, the costs of keeping their current teachers go up every year as their salaries increase with longevity, and this cost is not sufficiently addressed in the FSF formula that instead adjusts for average teacher salaries system wide, rather than by school.

In any case, please ask your principal, your chapter leader, and/or your School Leadership Team whether your school will lose teachers next year, and if so, how many teachers, in what grades, and what the likely result will be in class size. And then let me know what you find out. It is also important to inform your Council Members ASAP, as they are right now negotiating with the Mayor on next year’s budget, due to be finalized in the next few days. You can find their contact info here. Feel free to copy me at [email protected] if you do. But do it soon; time is running out!

thanks Leonie