Massive spending in NYC school districts fails to improve student performance

New York City taxpayers are paying up to $63,000 per student each year in some school districts – even as many of these children are failing state math and reading standards.

Such high costs used to belong only to the realm of a few elite private schools. However, “dozens” of the city’s public school districts spent up to three times the city’s average of $21,112 per student in fiscal year 2023-24, according to the New York Post.

In one example, the New Design Middle School in West Harlem provided 59% of its 84 students with special-education plans last year.

Of those, only 21% could achieve reading proficiency, while their math proficiency fell even further at 13%. 

“Students with special needs are concentrated in these schools where high poverty is already a concern,” said Donalda Chumney, member of the Community Education Council 15 in Brooklyn and a former Manhattan District 2 superintendent. 

“It’s a costly model that robs children of a thriving community, a robust academic program, and diverse peers.” 

‘Really scary that students are performing so poorly’ 

Many of these budget-busting institutions enroll fewer than 100 students, whose math and reading scores fall “well below the citywide average,” the Post reported. 

This lackluster performance takes place in classrooms filled with teachers and support staff, including therapists, social workers, guidance counselors and aides experienced in crisis management. 

For example, the Eubie Blake School in Bedford-Stuyvesant employs nine teachers for 55 students, or a ratio of one teacher for every six students. 

“It’s really scary that students are performing so poorly with all that money being spent,” said a city Department of Education administrator, according to the Post. “I’m shocked that district superintendents haven’t stepped in to question what’s going on.” 

One contributing factor involves a policy to “hold harmless” schools experiencing declines in enrollment, argues the Citizens Budget Commission watchdog group. 

This policy provides the same amount of funding to schools each year even as fewer students enroll. 

“When you choose to hold schools harmless, especially when decreases in enrollment vary so dramatically, you create more inequity,” said Ana Champeny, the group’s vice president for research. “Now schools that are losing enrollment are going to have significantly more resources per student.” 

Those resources need to be justified through better student performance, according to Champeny. 

“The challenge is how to use the dollars more effectively and make sure that we’re actually getting good outcomes for our kids. This is so critical to the city’s future.”