COVID funds end soon, and schools may scrap arts
Local elected officials and arts advocates are warning that “every NYC student stands to lose arts programming” when COVID aid disappears this summer.
The city’s public schools are currently using $41 million in federal stimulus for the arts, officials revealed last week. But that money, including $16 million that during the pandemic replaced a local tax levy, is about to expire. The Department of Education has not publicly released plans to save well-regarded programs.
“That money has gone to every single school across the DOE,” said Kim Olsen, executive director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, which is holding a press conference Wednesday to sound the alarm.
“So now, all schools are at risk of losing funding for art in their schools — unless our city takes action.”
Some belt-tightening on school arts has already begun. Earlier this month, singer Alicia Keys and “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White stepped in to save a drama program that received a fraction of the budget it expected this year.
The full-time arts education workforce has shrunk nearly 15% since before the pandemic, leaving 307 schools without a certified arts teacher, according to the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable.
Schools without arts teachers may turn to cultural organizations to plug the gap. But some arts providers have scaled back or dropped school programming entirely after Mayor Adams cut the Department of Cultural Affairs budget over multiple rounds of savings plans.
Bronx Arts Ensemble, which offers music education at 30 public schools, lost funding it used to receive through the city’s cultural development fund and had to cut down services in schools, according to Deputy Director Mayra Medina. That means shorter programs, fewer classes and less frequent visits from professional artists.
“This is where students get to actually be their creative selves, let their feelings out,” Medina said. “If you start taking that away, where do they go? Where are they able to express themselves?”
On top of the federal dollars that supplanted city funding, another $25 million in expiring dollars is currently in the hands of principals to spend on arts, officials said. Schools received between $2,000 and $50,000 each, budget documents show. The rest of the expiring federal funds are covering city budget shortfalls.
“The previous administration replaced some previously existing programs supported by tax levy with stimulus dollars,” Deputy Chancellor of Operations and Finance Emma Vadehra told the City Council at last week’s budget hearing.
“We are advocating for none of this to be cut,” she added, “but … it’s all federal dollars. Federal expiring dollars.”
The city has spent $125 million in federal stimulus on arts programming since the pandemic began, according to the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. Close to $1 billion in expiring aid is still propping up the public schools, including some preschool programs and homeless shelter-based school staff.
“The arts are critical component in the education of our young people,” said Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the public schools. “We are extremely grateful for the stimulus funding that we used to support a range of programs that support our students social-emotional well-being and feed their passions. We continue to advocate with our city, state and federal partners to help fund these initiatives and support our young people.”