Chancellor Aviles-Ramos Announces Mid-Year Hold Harmless for New York City Public Schools

New York, NY – Today, New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced that school budgets will be held harmless for mid-year enrollment losses for the 2024-2025 school year. As our schools continue to support new students and respond to enrollment fluctuations, we are proud to be able to offer this fiscal stability. Based on feedback from principals and school staff, in tandem with this infusion of additional dollars, New York City Public Schools will institute rigorous budget support that provide a targeted approach in effective uses of funds.

“As our schools continue to serve our students, our top priority is to ensure that every school leader has the resources and supports to carry out their school’s mission and put our children on a path to lifelong success,” said Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos. “I am proud that in direct response to feedback from our school communities, schools will not only receive funding, but also personalized supports designed to help them make the most of this funding.” 

Following on recently shared preliminary enrollment figures, which showed level enrollment year over year, approximately 50% of schools would have been subject to a mid-year adjustment totaling $157 million dollars. These schools will now see no change in funding. Additionally, another 50% of schools are slated to receive an additional $146 million dollars to support increases in enrollment. 

To guarantee that our investment in schools meets the community's immediate needs, school leaders will receive personalized support from their field team budget directors in budget and procurement matters. These supports, which will vary from one-on-one meetings to school budget reviews, will help schools ensure that funds are used within the current fiscal year and comply with New York City Public Schools procurement regulations.

This builds on the Adams administration’s continued commitment to maintaining stability for school budgets and ensuring the vital services, resources, and programs school communities have become accustomed to are not put in jeopardy. In June 2024, Mayor Adams announced a hold harmless policy for the initial budget allocations of schools in the 2024-2025 school year and because of the administration’s strong fiscal management, it has invested over $600 million to protect programs that were funded with temporary stimulus dollars.  Additionally, this administration has prioritized fiscal wellbeing of schools via:

• The investment of $180 million for class size reduction efforts;
• Roughly $100 million in support of changes to the Fair Student Funding formula to prioritize students in temporary housing and schools with high concentrations of students with needs; and
• The Adams administration’s investment of nearly $1 billion for major five-year teacher, principal, and staff pay increases.