Mayor Adams and the City Council plan to restore $514 million in spending to save 3-K and other education programs that were funded with expired pandemic relief funds, city officials said.
Nearly $1 billion in federal stimulus continues to support the public school system this year, including key Adams administration priorities such as dyslexia services, special education preschool programs, and school safety partnerships with outside organizations.
These and other efforts, including at least some 3-K program slots, will receive additional funding in the executive budget released next week. The program was in jeopardy as the aid expired.
“This covers some parts of the program, but not all of it,” the source said.
Chairman Adams and Schools Superintendent David Banks are scheduled to announce a partial renovation at Franklin D. Roosevelt PS 34 in Alphabet City this afternoon.
The city's public schools have received $7 billion in temporary funding since the pandemic.
Parents are rallying to restore 3-K funding, wondering if all families who want a free infant seat will be given one in an increasingly expensive city.
On Thursday, city council members with young children formed a New Parents Group to lobby Adams to reverse the preschool cuts.
The Department of Education's early childhood division is facing two rounds of budget cuts for the upcoming school year, resulting in a funding shortfall of about $263 million, combined with the impending fiscal cliff due to the expiration of federal pandemic aid.