New York City teachers have not been threatening
with layoffs for the first time in three years. Thursday Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg announced preliminary budget. Mayor Michael’s preliminary budget last
year threw questions for 4,500 teacher jobs. He did this to absorb large cuts
from the state and to end the federal stimulus funds. Teacher layoffs were never a threat in 2010
and 2011 year. The mayor said on Thursday that the city’s finances remained
under stress. He has planned to cut money for other agencies and increasing
financing for the city’s Department of Education. Increasing $24.5 billion in
2013 the city’s budget documents project the department’s total budget and
$24.1 billion in 2012. It isn’t clear what impact increase in financing in the
classroom yet with the city’s fixed costs going up every year. The City Council
must approve the budget and is expected to make its own adjustments. Much
criticism from advocates who say that the mayor’s preliminary budget cuts some
aspects of education which thousands of daycare and after-school slots is cut. According
to Bill de Blasio a public advocates states that roughly 16,000 daycare seats
would be lost if the mayor does not increase financing to the Administration
for Children’s Services. Groups like the Center for Children’s Initiatives and
the United Neighborhood Houses have estimated 25,000 positions lost in the city’s
Out-of-School Time program, an after-school program that opened under Mayor
Bloomberg. Richard Buery the Children’s Aid Society’s president states that if “the
mayor’s cuts to after-school programs sadly continues a multi-year trend of
cutting programs for the children in our city that need them most”. 85,000 to
27,000 is the number of dropped slots for After-school programs in the past
three years. He states that “these programs keep our neediest kids on track for
college graduation the one sure pathway out of poverty.
With the preliminary budget it takes away programs
that we need the most in some cities. This preliminary budgets impacts children
who need it the most and there should be a better solution to this problem. We
are in the need for good teachers because you want the best quality education
for our children. We don’t want children to attend school to better themselves
and prepare them for their futures.
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