New York State stiffed city schools $7 million

State Education Department officials accidentally stiffed city public schools out of $7 million in federal funding, Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia said Friday.

The mistake was made as part of a larger foul-up in which state education officials accidentally diverted $12 million in federal money away from school districts across New York, Elia explained.

Most of the money that was diverted went to charter schools, Elia said. The state will repay the $7 million it owes the city over the next four years.

“This is a problem that we had and we own it,” Elia said.

City Education Department brass wouldn't say if the city noticed the missing cash, which represents a fraction of the school system's annual budget of nearly $31 billion.