Ed Dept. budget ‘out of control’
THE CITY’S school system is on track to exceed budget targets by more than $43 million in three categories, a procharter-school group claims in a report released Monday.
Public schools are millions overbudget for building rentals, student transportation and printing costs, according to the lobby Families for Excellent Schools.
“The mayor continues to pour millions into an out-of-control budget,” said the charter school group’s CEO, Jeremiah Kittredge. “Every time we get more information, we see runaway spending by his administration.”
The group’s tally found the city is set to spend $15.5 million on printing costs for 2017, more than twice the $6.6 million it had budgeted.
Likewise, the city will spend more than $235 million on rentals for land, buildings and structures in 2017, the report shows — which is nearly $14 million in excess of what it says Mayor de Blasio budgeted for 2017.
Additionally, the city will spend more than $1.1 billion on pupil transportation in 2017, $20 million more than budgeted.
The group’s accounting is based on figures supplied by Controller Scott Stringer’s website, Checkbook NYC.
But Education Department spokesman Will Mantell disputed the group’s figures, saying the city’s current budget projections differ from the numbers cited in the report. Mantell said the city budgeted $236 million for facilities rentals and nearly $1.2 billion for transportation, which would cover the costs the charter school group cited for those two categories. By that reckoning, the printing costs would still be over by $8.9 million.