The economy's dominating the national news, and on the civic landscape, the proposed across-the-board 2.5% budget cuts requested by Mayor Bloomberg could translate to $185 million in cuts to the city's schools -- a third more than the $120 million in proposed cuts that was so bitterly opposed earlier this year.
It's worth pointing out that two big-ticket programs previously funded by private donations -- the Leadership Academy, which grooms new principals, and the cash-incentive awards for Progress Reports, each at an annual cost of close to $20 million -- are supposed to shift to public support in the coming year. That's a cool $40 million in public funds -- a big number by any standard, and especially so when set against the sting of $185 million in possible cuts.
Proposals for leaner budgets are due to the Mayor in early October; time will tell how DOE planners will make some of the most difficult economic choices of the Bloomberg-Klein administration.
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