DOE budget cuts face cut

Judge could nix $37B plan

A Manhattan judge appears poised to reverse cuts to public school budgets — suggesting that the city violated state law during the approval process.

The ruling by New York State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank expected Friday could possibly throw out the Department of Education’s entire $37 billion budget for next year and allow the City Council to recast its June vote approving the funding that included the hundreds of millions in cuts.

“As we await a final court order, we hope the court will recognize that an entirely new budget process a month from the start of the school year will only bring further uncertainty,” said Mayor Adams in a statement.

The highly unusual judicial order was sought by a group of parents and teachers who filed a suit against the city over the budget slashes, which are tied to plunging enrollment in public schools.

Frank on Thursday continued his temporary restraining order issued July 22 that stopped the city from moving forward with the cuts, keeping school funding at the levels outlined last year.

The plaintiffs argued that the city flouted state law by passing a budget that included at least $215 million in cuts, a small portion of the overall DOE budget, without prior approval from the department’s oversight board.

City lawyers countered that an “emergency declaration” issued by Schools Chancellor David Banks allowed them to bypass the panel and put the cuts into effect at the school level.

But Frank found that the declaration, though not unusual, “should have a good reason.”

“If it’s called an emergency declaration, it really should be an emergency,” the judge said.

Once an order is formally issued, the city will be able to appeal.

Still, Frank asked lawyers on both sides to recommend language that would prevent his order from infringing on the overall city budget.

‘Consequences’

Several logistical questions remain to be ironed out, as principals make key hiring decisions and just weeks before schools reopen for the fall, including what funding the city would tap if the cuts are reversed.

Close to 1,200 schools were set to have slimmer budgets amid plunging student enrollment, while the fewer than 400 schools with increased enrollment were slated to get increased funding.

Banks in a statement Thursday evening said the DOE “awaits clarity about how the court’s ultimate decision impacts our preparation for reopening this September.”

“This is about our children,” said Tamara Tucker, a mom of two kids at PS 125 in Harlem and the named plaintiff in the case, at a rally outside the court in Foley Square.

“These budget cuts have already wreaked havoc on our schools, and unless they are restored will have very real consequences for students in the fall,” Tucker said.

Laura Barbieri, special counsel for Advocates for Justice, which is representing the plaintiffs, said attorneys could propose language for the judge’s anticipated ruling that would allow for no schools to lose funding as a result of the order.

Adams, at an unrelated press conference on Thursday, committed to following the court rulings.

“We’re going to find out what the judge states, and we’re going to move forward. We’re going to do everything that we must do to make sure our schools are open,” said the mayor.

“I’m a mayor that’s focused on giving the schools the resources they need, and I’m proud of that,” he added.

The Law Department declined to comment on the hearing.