NYC May Be Forced To Spend $2 Billion Per Year On School Class Sizes
The newly imposed state-mandated rule to reduce class sizes in New York City is expected to have a significant financial impact, costing the city nearly $2 billion per year and potentially reaching up to $10 billion over the next five years. The Independent Budget Office of the city released an analysis of this controversial rule, scheduled to take effect in September, which Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly expressed concerns about due to the city’s existing financial challenges, including the multi-billion dollar migrant crisis.
According to the study, the Department of Education in New York City would need to hire approximately 17,700 additional teachers to accommodate the newly added classes. The estimated cost ranges from $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion, factoring in the negotiated 3% raises for teachers as part of their recently ratified union contract. This cost projection covers the period between the school years 2025 and 2028.
The law, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, imposes a maximum cap of 20 students for kindergarten through third-grade classes, 23 students for fourth through eighth grade, and 25 students for high school classes.
Opponents of the law argue that the declining enrollment in city schools, with approximately 120,000 students and families leaving over the past five years, will result in reduced funding for schools. This raises concerns about where the necessary funds to support smaller class sizes will come from.
Data provided by the advocacy group Class Size Matters shows that kindergarten through third-grade classes had an average of 21.2 students in the 2021-2022 school year compared to 23.8 students pre-COVID. For grades four through eight, the average class size decreased from 26.5 students in 2019-2020 to 23.8 students in 2021-2022, and for high school, it decreased from 26.4 students to 24.7 students during the same period.
The Department of Education already faces shortages of licensed teachers in subjects such as middle- and high-school English, math, sciences, Spanish, bilingual education, and special education.
To comply with the law, the city must ensure that 20% of classes meet the size caps by the 2023-2024 school year and steadily increase the percentage until reaching 100% compliance by 2027-2028. Schools Chancellor David Banks has formed a “Class Size Working Group” consisting of teachers, administrators, parents, and education advocates to make recommendations on how public schools in New York City should adapt to the new rules.
Chancellor Banks has previously acknowledged the positive intentions of the legislation but expressed concerns about the financial feasibility for the city to implement it. The Department of Education spokesperson criticized the law as an “unfunded” burden on the city’s finances.
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