"NEW YORK, NY December 02, 2009 —City principals are gearing up for another round of budget cuts. The Education Department is preparing a 1.5 percent reduction to help the city close its mid-year deficit. That might not sound like a lot. But it follows a previous round of cuts that principals say has left the schools with no place left to trim. WNYC’s Beth Fertig visited an elementary school in East New York to see the impact.
AVERY: Ms Huger? Want to come next?"
It’s 9 a.m. and Principal Melessa Avery of P.S. 273 in Brooklyn is looking at a packed schedule. She has to observe a few classes, meet with her cabinet, and hold a fire safety meeting.
Administrative manager Janet Huger helps Avery plan her day. The safety meeting has to include a teacher who’s also the union rep. But Huger and Avery say there’s no one to cover for him if he leaves the classroom.
HUGER: Normally we would have people to do coverages for that. We don’t have that anymore. That was a luxury last year. That’s gone. AVERY: Because of budget cuts we don’t have like the extra staff.
Principal Avery had to let go of five of her 27 teachers, because the school’s budget was reduced by half a million dollars. To avoid a big increase in class sizes she made science and social studies teachers into classroom teachers. Kindergarten enrollment grew, however, and she was forced to hire another teacher recently.
If the 1.5 percent budget cut is applied equally to all schools, P.S. 273 will lose $63,000. Principal Avery is stumped when asked what she’ll cut next.
