“The Council has been clear that the school budgets should be restored, and the Department of Education (DOE) must immediately fix the problems it has caused for New York City public school students. It has become clearer than ever that DOE lacks transparency and accountability and removed hundreds of millions of dollars more from school budgets than it ever conveyed in the city budget. Resolving this is about more than just a vote because DOE ultimately controls what happens with school budgets – a resolution must focus on ensuring ongoing accountability for DOE to do right by our schools within its larger budget. The Council is considering a full range of legal actions to take in the coming days to ensure DOE permanently restores school budgets, is accountable to the public, and completely transparent about all relevant budget information and detailed accounting of the status of its remaining federal stimulus funds. Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks are risking the health of our school system and students, and they must resolve this issue immediately. The Council and school stakeholders have been seeking such a resolution for weeks without a constructive partner at DOE. It is time for DOE to stop the chaos and confusion that its actions have created.”

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