Forced Shopping Spree
Rollover Funds Yanked
by Yuridia Peña
Frugal Principals were forced to spend thousands, if not millions, of dollars when an email from Schools Chancellor Cathie Black told them that their schools’ rainy-day funds were going to be slashed by half if not allocated in their budgets by March 4.
One small school in Brooklyn is immediately spending $150,000 on air conditioners, ink cartridges, SMARTboards and electrical upgrades instead of hiring a new Assistant Principal or retaining teachers next year. The Assistant Principal of this school fears future criticism from the community. “Next year we’re going to have to excess somebody,” she said.
Stephen Duch, Principal of Hillcrest High School in Queens, says $200,000 will buy furniture, computers for classrooms, consumables and lockers. “I anticipate that the budget for next year will be worse than the budget for this year,” he said. Mr. Duch says Principals should be smart and quickly spend the money by the deadline. “It’s not challenging for us,” he said.
Thomas A. Edison C.T.E. High School in Queens has a $400,000 surplus. Assistant Principal Moses Ojeda says the school will increase student services including more Regents prep, and afterschool and extended day programs. The school’s vast career and technical program will also get new equipment.
Principals have traditionally been allowed to put aside funds for the next fiscal year through the “Deferred Budget Planning
Initiative”. But Ms. Black’s directive in the Principals’ Weekly gave them a heads up that they’ll only be allowed to keep 50 cents on every dollar if they don’t allocate it by March 4.
“Your students would really be the losers if you chose not to spend the money; they would not benefit from these funds in the future,” said CSA President Ernest Logan.
Many schools, however, don’t have this problem according to a number of Principals with whom the CSA News spoke. For example, Dr. Laverne Nimmons, Principal of PS 335, Brooklyn, has a $90,000 deficit and is feeling the pressure from the DOE to raise funds; she faces beginning next year with a negative balance. “I am an educator, I am not a financial person,” she said. Dr. Nimmons had a business manager who left for another job. Dr. Nimmons was unable to fill the position because the DOE took the money allotted for that position and never replaced it.
