Transcript: Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams Protect Over $500 Million in Key Education Programs Previously Funded with Temporary Stimulus Dollars, Announce Effort to Boost Early[...]

April 19, 2024

Chancellor David Banks, New York City Public Schools: All right, good morning everybody. Good morning, good morning, good morning. This is a wonderful day. Welcome to PS 34, the Franklin D. Roosevelt School. Big, big shout out to the folks who work here every day and Principal Sanchez. Where are you, Principal Sanchez? Thank you for having us here today. This school is deeply invested in the arts and in developing the whole child. I'm just thrilled that we are here today. Also want to give a shout-out to our superintendent, Dr. Carry Chan. Thank you so much for being here. As well as the president of the student body here at the school. You all better recognize. This is Madam President. Layla, please stand up.

Please stand up, Layla. Thank you, dear. Thank you for leading. Leadership matters. Leadership is on display here today. I was here about a year ago, right here in this room, to honor one of the amazing pre-K teachers, Ms. Ileana Mercado, with the Big Apple Award, marking her as one of the best teachers in the entire city. That's the great work that happens here at this school. We're going to have an opportunity to see some of the pre-K work that's going on here as well in a moment after this announcement. Today is a very, very exciting day, and without further ado, I would love to introduce the mayor, Mr. Mayor Eric Adams, everybody. Thank you.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, chancellor. Why don't you come join us, Madam President? Stand next to him. Stand there right next to the speaker. You're going to take my spot. Right there.

Next to the speaker, First African American woman to be the speaker. Now you're standing next to her. We came inside and she said, "Speaker Adams," I said, Eric Adams. She said, "That's your wife?" Thank you, Chancellor Banks, and the challenges that we have faced as we navigated the budgetary challenges. Just want to thank the entire team in a number of hours, and thank city council speaker Adrienne Adams and her entire team, the finance chair as well. These are important moments and you have to get it right and the right balance on both sides of City Hall allows us to do that.

No one works harder for the city than parents and families and knowing how to raise the families with the proper balance. I know how much attention and desire I put into Jordan. I think every family should have the right to ensure that their children receive a quality education and be in a safe space no matter what one is going through. We know that nothing holds them back more than a lack of access to childcare and support for the kids. That's why we fought to decrease the cost of childcare in Albany from $55 a week to $5 a week, and why we continue to lean into pre-K in 3-K, and we know how difficult it is.

We inherited programs that the dollars were allocated using stimulus dollars, which we knew were going to sunset, but we had to find a way to ensure that we can keep these programs in place, and our parents know it. The parent knows what they go through, how they struggle, how they are committed to raising healthy children and family. That's why our administration has invested in our children, increasing public school enrollment, bolstering test scores, and revolutionizing how we are teaching kids to read something that is becoming a statewide model.

We believe it's going to become a national model. A real vision by Chancellor Banks for understanding to make that bold move with a lot of pushback. Now, people are identifying how you were right, and they are embracing it. We did all of this despite the major fiscal challenges we have faced, including the unexpected course of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with our migrants and asylum seekers. The expiration, as I stated, of these temporary Covid dollars. Today, we're delivering for our working parents and families.

I'm proud to announce that thanks to our strong fiscal management and a booming economy that just yesterday helped us hit another new all-time high total jobs record and witnessing the lowest Black unemployment rate since and before Covid. We have stabilized the city budget and our fiscal outlook, and we cannot really thank of the speaker enough who has been a partner to allow us to really land two budgets. We did this twice, difficult times. We're putting in place real innovative ways of going after those marginalized New Yorkers for so many years.

We are now able to protect more than $514 million worth of Department of Education programs. The majority of which will be baselined and recurring dollars, unlike what happened previously. This is crucial to the fiscal management that independent experts are looking at and raising our bond rates for because we are not using budgetary tricks. This means we won't be relying on temporary funds to support them in the future. We had to rely on that. When we inherited the city in January 2022, we're not going to use those forms of budgetary processes to ensure that we don't know where these dollars are coming from.

You can't have a cross-your-finger government and hope for the best. You have to make smart decisions. This funding will support mental health care, career readiness, and literacy and dyslexia programs for New York City public school students. In the past, all of these programs were funded exclusively with temporary stimulus dollars, but now the federal funding is ending. We must make sure that this progress does not end while these dollars are ending. Our administration is stepping up to fund these programs with permanent city and state dollars, including pre-K and 3-K programs. You can clap again. I thought I heard Rita's laugh. Oh, there Rita Joseph.

Councilmember Rita Joseph: Right here.

Mayor Adams: We are also investing in $25 million in funding for special education classes and related services within district schools to pre-K students with special needs. This will help special-ed children within our district schools and provide them with related services. Another step towards reducing the private provider waiting list, something that has really haunted us for years. We are also strengthening access to early childhood education for all parents. Currently, New York City has tens of thousands of unfulfilled 3-K and pre-K seats, but we don't want a single seat to sit unfilled. That was something we observed when we took office in January 2022.

Too many of these seats were unfilled and we want to thank the City Council and their partnership to find ways of how do we get parents engaged to place these babies in these seats. This is why we are launching a $5 million effort to maximize the number of children enrolled in 3-K and pre-K programs across New York City. With this funding, parents across the five boroughs will have the information and access they need to participate in these incredible programs, information, and access.

That means more kids will have a safe place to grow, learn, and socialize, and parents don't have to choose between TV as a babysitter and earning a living. Our administration is committed, this administration and the speaker's administration. We have been committed that we are offering the right types of seats and in the places where they are needed. Finally, we continue to make it easier for working parents to apply for subsidized child care by investing an additional $8 million towards our MyCity portal, which provides access to free and reduced childcare costs, along with access to city services all in one place, and all in just one application.

This will build on our legacy of making childcare accessible and affordable, available to any parent who needs it. Since we took office, we have boosted the number of children enrolled in subsidized childcare by 36,000. We continue to be driven by a clear mission: protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make this city livable for working-class New Yorkers. The results speak for themselves. Jobs are up, crime is down, and we're making the right investment in our young people and hardworking families of our city every day. We want every child to have a chance to be able to thrive regardless of their zip code.

I want to thank again, Speaker Adams, Chair Joseph and the City Council for their advocacy. Justin Brannan, the Finance chair, and all of our childcare advocates. We heard you. We see you, we see our children, and we will continue to be committed to them. Today's a good day for New Yorkers, for working families, and for our children. Our administration made the right decision for our city. We made the tough calls when we needed to make them, but we have partnered with our City Council to make the right calls as we move our children forward. We will never compromise on delivering the essential services New Yorkers rely on, and we will remain steadfast in the recovery of this city.

New York City is not coming back. New York City is back, and for it to continue to come back, we must make sure our children are receiving the quality education they need. Thank you very much. Good job, chancellor.

Chancellor Banks: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. This is a very, very big deal. In order to make a deal like this happen, the mayor needs the right partner on the City Council's side, and we can't think of a better partner than our own speaker, who is also a dear friend of mine. I've known her for many, many years. I know how much she loves this city. I just ask that you all welcome the speaker of the City Council, Adrienne Adams.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams: Thank you so much. Thank you so much to my longtime dear friend, the chancellor of the City of New York. Mayor, if I could still do backflips like when we were in high school, this would be the moment.

I am absolutely thrilled to stand here with all of my colleagues in the council, my colleagues in the administration. Thank you so much, Mayor Adams, for convening us today for this important announcement regarding investment in our schools and education system. I, of course, want to acknowledge my colleagues who are here today, including Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan and Education chair, Councilmember Rita Joseph, for joining us today. We know that access to a high-quality education is not just an imperative. It is a right and our responsibility to all students.

Our students are still struggling to recover from historic levels of learning loss and mental health challenges caused by the pandemic. They need our full support now more than ever. Disruptions in learning have set our students back, particularly students who live in low-income communities and in temporary housing. Those who live in low-income communities, those who require special education services, English language learners, and others. Without sustained investments to support our young people, these gaps will only widen.

Vital initiatives like preschool special education, community schools, bilingual services, learning to work, school-based social workers and psychologists, arts programming and staff, and community coordinators for students in temporary housing, have helped bridge these gaps over the years. As the mayor mentioned, as federal stimulus funds expire, our students are at risk of losing the help they need. That's why in the Council's preliminary budget response, we called for continued funding and a restoration of these crucial programs. Today's announcement that more than $500 million will be included to support many of these educational programs in the executive budget is a welcome and important step forward.

It makes progress in giving our young people continued access to the programs and services they rely on without interruption. The Council will continue to champion key educational programs that our students need to succeed and continue to push for their protection. As I stated in my State of the City this year, the strength of our early childhood education system is imperative to the well-being of our communities. For the many working and middle-class families, access to these programs is the deciding factor to keeping their families here in New York City or leaving to raise their children elsewhere.

It is essential that we fulfill our duty to New Yorkers and ensure that they can build their legacies right here and not leave us. As of December 2023, there were thousands of vacant 3-K and UPK seats despite the many families on wait lists across the city. This underscores the importance of funding strong outreach and marketing efforts that reach families in need of an early childhood education seat. I'm so heartened that the city is protecting $92 million in the transition from expired stimulus funds for 3-K and is committing $5 million to strengthen outreach that supports improved enrollment as well as $8 million for implementation of the MyCity portal to make it easier to apply for subsidized childcare.

That needs another applause. These are much-needed investments and New York City's children and families deserve our full support. As we move forward with the continued budget process, the Council will prioritize securing the resources of our children and students because we need them to thrive. There's still work to do on our education budget, but today's announcement is surely a critical step forward. We look forward to continuing to work with the administration and all stakeholders to support the funding of essential services for all New Yorkers in the city budget. Now for my backflip.

Chancellor Banks: Today marks a significant and historic investment by New York City and our public schools. This $514 million in funding safeguards key education programs previously supported by temporary stimulus funds. We've been advocating for months that the valuable programs were in danger without additional state or city funding. Well, this administration has stepped up and made it happen and we cannot thank this mayor enough and this speaker for her advocacy. Together, we made this happen, and it is a huge deal for all the students across this city.

These programs include signature initiatives under our Bright Starts Bold Futures agenda like NYC Reads, Career Pathways, Project Pivot, and many, many more. The announcement doesn't stop there, it includes long-term funding for nearly 500 social workers and psychologists, and school psychologists. 113 community schools, students and temporary housing coordinators, and critical bilingual education and translation services. All critical programs for our kids and their families.

There are even more programs included here, from the arts, to the Learn to Work program. This mayor and this speaker have come to the rescue to make this happen. This announcement is a testament to the unwavering dedication, and providing holistic and enriching education experience for every child in this city. I cannot state strongly enough how significant this investment is.

Please note this, that across the country, school districts are taking very painful measures to adjust to the loss of their stimulus funding, from reducing school budgets, to laying off staff. Districts like Washington, D.C., Houston, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, to name a few, as we sit here today, our laying off staff because of the loss of the stimulus funds. New York City has not laid off any staff, and there's been no reduction to school budgets. I think that deserves a big, big round of applause.

Under Mayor Adams' leadership, we've made remarkable progress in supporting working-class families and empowering our youth, from leading with reading to expanding options for high-quality schools, our administration remains steadfast in its commitment to equitable access, to education and opportunity for all. Together we're building a bright future for New York City, one where every child has the chance to thrive. I want to wrap up also by saying this and giving, for me, a very special shout-out to the woman who I call my partner in this work.

Chair Rita Joseph has been an amazing, amazing partner from the City Council's side. The speaker deals very directly with the mayor, but the chair of Education and I talk to each other on a regular basis, and we talk policy. She's a fierce advocate. I'll tell you, the thing that matters most to me is when she calls from time to time just to say, "How you doing? I'm checking on you." That matters and shows that she cares, and she cares deeply about the kids of this city, and I'm thrilled just to continue to be in partnership with her. This is the way city government is supposed to work on behalf of all of our kids. I say thank you to the mayor, I say thank you to the speaker, and I say thank you to Chair Joseph. I think with that, Mr. Mayor and the speaker, we want you to take some…

Question: I know that there's funding here to expand 3-K Seats, but can you talk about are you committed to rolling out Universal Free 3-K? My son is in 3-K, we love it, it's fantastic. There's still a lot of neighborhoods in the city where there's more demand than there are seats, even though there are also some empty seats. Are you both committed to Universal Free 3-K and are you reinstating the outreach teams?

Mayor Adams: The speaker could talk about what the City Council Alex allocated funds for the outreach because it's so important. A lot of parents don't know how to access, and we have to meet them where we are like we're doing with our hiring halls. I am committed to every parent and child that wants a seat, will have access to a seat. I'm committed. I've said that over and over again. That accessibility is important, but you can't say you have access, and then I sit in the City Hall, or we sit inside our sterilized environments of our office spaces.

We have to get into the community on the streets, communicate with parents, show them the benefits. The chancellor brought the senior team to a walkthrough to show how this is done on the ground, and that is our goal. We want to go and find those seats. To get these children into these seats is crucial. Speaker, you want to talk about…

Councilmember Joseph: Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Councilmember Joseph. One of the things we wanted to do is outreach beyond the ground, right? When we first launched 3-K you saw them in churches, street fairs. We're going to do the same energy to make sure that we are reaching parents where they are. Also, if English is not your first language, we will meet you with that as well. Make sure that it's a bilingual program. We are addressing language access and with accessibility and information. That's usually things that are not missing. Access, equity, and information.

That's what we'll be doing as the Council to make sure we're on the streets, making sure parents know where to find these programs. That's been the biggest thing. Also, where the chairs are not working with the administration and working with the chancellor to move those seats around where they're needed to meet the needs. If there's a long wait list in Queens, we want to make sure we shift the seats to meet your needs.

Question: Are they the same outreach teams as before or is it slightly different?

Councilmember Joseph: It's a new team, it's a new day. We're doing new things

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you? Which programs are being funded by federal stimulus dollars because the pot of money was larger than the $500 million you're announcing, correct?

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: How much money, what's that dollar sign now, and what programs could still be at risk if that money - it's expiring - if it dries up?

Mayor Adams: We're going to have a long budget negotiation process with the speaker and her team, and we're going to go to the tables and show just the facts. We had a meeting, I think two weeks ago as we talked about the Rikers and the closing. It's about just getting in the room, showing the facts, and figuring out, "Okay, how do we do this?" This is our legacy. No matter what people say, this is going to be a reflection of how the two of us manage this city during this difficult time. We are in the process of negotiating and making these tough choices that we have to do, and we're going to do that.

Question: So cuts are still on the table?

Mayor Adams: Well, you use cuts. We need to find money. That's what we like to say. We need to find money to make sure our budgetary priorities are addressing the issues that we think are important.

Question: Where is this money coming from? Is it the state? Is it from city coffers?

Mayor Adams: Combination of things. We are sticking our fingers in the cushions of our couches finding every quarter we can find.

Question: I got another question. Is there enough money to fulfill the promise from December 2022 that guarantees every child, every special education pre-K student will have a seat?

Mayor Adams: I just said that. I said every child that wants a seat will have access to a seat.

Question: I'm curious why the 3-K expansion is only getting a one-year commitment if I'm understanding that correctly.

Jacques Jiha, Director, Office of Management and Budget: We are funding it. We're funding most of the programs, we baseline the funding, but for 3-K, we are only funding it for one year, this coming year. Our goal is to look for ways to fund it in the long term.

Mayor Adams: We can't underestimate what Chancellor Banks stated, we hit a fiscal cliff. There were a series of programs and initiatives that were permanent in nature with temporary dollars. Then you add settling long-standing union contracts. You add the uncertainty about economic turnaround. You add 180,000 migrants and asylum seekers without the money coming from the federal level like it's supposed to be, and then you look at the other cities. Layoffs of teachers, all other forms of draconian steps, we didn't do that. We have not laid off one single New Yorker, we have not laid off our teachers.

We looked at this fiscal crisis and we managed it in the appropriate way with our partners in the City Council. That's why the bond raiders increased our bonds. Fiscal management, what people thought we couldn't do. Now, we did it. This is an important announcement today. Historically, on the second page, we show how much, and it's a small number of things that the speaker and I disagree on. Let's put this on the second page. We agreed on this and we got it done.

Question: Mr. Mayor, can you talk about mayoral control?

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: How did that go about?

Mayor Adams: Mayoral control?

Question: Mayoral control.

Mayor Adams: Yes. No, we don't see Bernadette normally. It's just such a joy to see you. They're still negotiating. We're going to let Albany do what they do, Tiffany, Ingrid, the chancellor went up and spoke directly to the successes he has had, phonics, changing the way he's done in the state, what we're doing around dyslexia, what we're doing around outpacing the state in reading and math. He sold the case.

If they decide to take it up in the budget, it lays that he presented a good case, but we're going to wait and let Albany do what they do. We have good partners up there. We just did a great announcement today with the governor on cannabis, something that was important to me. We're going to continue to let them do what they do.

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