Good morning. Today is Friday. We’ll be looking at an education board that blocked New York City’s plan to allocate $10.5 billion in school funding. We will also look at the salary increase prospects for a small but important group of attorneys who have not had a team since 2004.
“It would blow up the whole system,” said David Banks, principal of the schools.
He was referring to the unexpected display of independence by the Education Policy Committee, the city’s governing body for public schools. On Wednesday, the panel refuses to approve Bank’s formula for allocating $10.5 billion in school funding and determine how much each school will receive.
In the years since City Hall took control of the school system, the panel has largely had the policies of successive mayors rubber stamped. But twice in the past two months, the council has rejected proposals from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration – a suggestion that the council could become an obstacle as Adams pursues his education. .
The vote on how to split the funds has implications for how public schools across the city prepare for the next school year, because a formula must be passed before the $10.5 billion endowment. State and local can be distributed to approximately 1,500 schools. . Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the education department, said the vote “will likely delay budgeting and school preparation” for 2022-23.
The vote against the formula angered City Hall, which comes at a time when Adams is fighting to retain mayoral control of the nation’s largest school system. He made a plea to state legislators – who will decide whether to extend it – in his State of the City address on Tuesday, saying “give us accountability”. explanation”. The Legislature may ask for concessions.
The panel was a bit late to begin its work this year. Adams, who took office in January, did not name his nine appointees before the first scheduled meeting. One of his appointees was later removed after she was accused of making anti-gay comments. She has yet to be replaced. (In addition to the nine member seats under the mayor’s control, each district president appoints one member. Another member is chosen by the president of the Community Education Council, which represents the city’s 32 school districts. .)
The panel – which now has eight members appointed by Adams – first voted against the administration a month ago, when it rejected an $82 million contract to pay for temporary staffing services. Last year, under Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, the council killed a test contract for the city’s gifted and talented program.
The banks’ formula for 2022-23 is essentially the same as the current formula. It includes additional funds for students in a number of categories, including those who are enrolled in special education or are learning English. But it raised concerns that it was not enough to account for the system’s most needed students.
The proposal needs eight votes to pass. It has seven, all from mayor appointees (one of Adams’ appointees missed the meeting). All five members appointed by the county president abstained. Thomas Sheppard, the member named by the chairmen of the Community Education Council, voted no.
The next panel meeting is scheduled for May 18. Approval of a formula after that will be an issue for schools, which “must receive their budget no later than that.” mid-May to avoid system-wide disruptions,” said Mark Cannizzaro, School Board president. Supervisor and Administrator, the principal’s union. He said it was “simply too late” to start debating the changes.
Weather
It was another sunny day near the low 60s with constant gusts of wind all night. The evenings are mostly clear and temperatures will drop to their lowest point in the 40s.
Parking next door
Valid until Monday (Eid al-Fitr).
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Since 2004, court-appointed attorneys representing New York City’s most needy clients have been paid $75 an hour for felony cases and family court matters and $60 for misdemeanor cases.
Those rates would be around $114 and $93 now if they keep up with inflation. They did not.
My colleague Jonah E. Bromwich writes that One result is that fewer and fewer attorneys are taking up these stressful, high-paying jobs.
The number of jury attorneys, as they are known – attorneys who can defend children or adults who cannot pay their own legal fees – has dropped to 39 in Manhattan, from 70 six years ago. The number in the Bronx fell to 48 from 80 during the same period. Brooklyn and Queens have each lost about a fifth of their panel counsel since 2011.
Another result was that the remaining board attorneys were pulled thin. Helen Bua, a board attorney in Manhattan, had 130 clients earlier this year and has stopped taking new cases. “The work was never done,” she said in a court filing. “I rarely feel completely prepared.”
Cynthia Godsoe, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who previously worked in family court, said the failure to raise rates reflects officials’ apathy toward the lives of vulnerable people. dearest.
“The family court, where these trials happen, is a poor people’s court, by definition,” she said. “The failure to remotely pay these attorneys close to what they need to be able to do a good job reflects a lack of understanding or disregard for those people’s basic rights as parents and Their lives are like family.”
The council’s lawyers are fighting for a raise. For three days last week, jury attorneys across the state declined to take on new clients as a way of calling attention to the matter.
At the same time, attorneys for several New York-based bar associations have also asked state Supreme Court judges to set new wages and remove limits that could prevent board attorneys from being paid for those who are not eligible. incident beyond a certain number of hours.
Judge Lisa Headley has yet to make a decision. If she doesn’t accept the attorneys’ requests, the State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul will be up for a pay raise for the panelists. But the state did not include that money in the recently passed budget.
A state attorney general, Anjali Bhat, told Judge Headley during a hearing that Hochul and the Legislature were looking for a solution and that Hochul was “not opposed to doubling the rate”, but Bhat does not provide additional information. A spokeswoman for the governor, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said that Hochul is in favor of “a fair share” and “is working to reach a resolution to ensure dissenting parties have effective support from the government.” lawyer.”
What we are reading
Dear Diary:
I walked out of the apartment complex I just moved into. It was an early September morning, and a light rain fell.
My train was coming and it wasn’t falling, so I decided not to go back upstairs to get an umbrella but just go to the station.
I passed a man sweeping. He holds a broom in one hand and a duster in the other.
“Hey, ma’am,” he said, speaking so quietly I could barely hear him. I thought he might have talked to me, but as someone who has had a lot of bad interactions with strangers on the street, I thought it best to keep walking.
“Ma’am,” he said again.
I wonder if I may have dropped something. Before I could check my bag, I heard him again, this time a little louder.
“Aunt!”
I comeback. The broom in his hand has been replaced with a clear plastic poncho. He wears a yellow one with a hood. Water droplets are flowing down the front.
“Because of the rain,” he said, holding out his hand.
– Aiza Shahid-Qureshi
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and Read more Metropolitan Diary here.
