Chair Dinowitz on class size compliance and teacher retention

While the administration and the DOE strive to meet universal programming across ECE, New York City Reads and Solves, and other supports, I want to emphasize inclusion and efficacy.

Programs are only universal if everyone can participate fully and meaningfully.

I look forward to hearing more from the DOE on how they will ensure that 2K students will be identified for early intervention services.

I'm interested in learning more about the expansion of New York City Reads and Solves.

DOE should use this expansion to promote cultural competency and develop teachers'capacity to lead programs.

professional development for their colleagues on these curricula.

And in the wake of yet another school bus contract extension, I look forward to a discussion on how DOE will ensure students in temporary housing and foster care

get to school despite relying on decades-old school bus contracts that do not adequately consider their needs.

As the DOE reconfigures its class size plan with a two-year extension for full compliance, the city needs to not only invest in teacher recruitment, which increases by $17 million in fiscal 2027 in this plan, but also on teacher retention.

While most of DOE's savings rely on the state's extension for class size implementation, there are still many outstanding questions on the DOE's new class size plan and expectations for the 2026-27 school year.

DOE must get to 100% class size compliance.

In a way that is equitable.

We cannot prioritize funding for schools that need help reaching compliance at the expense of schools that meet the class size mandate but have other needs.

It is the Council's responsibility to ensure that the City's budget is fair, transparent, and accountable to all New Yorkers.

It is essential that the budget that we adopt this year is also reflective of the priorities and interests of the Council and the people that we represent.

This hearing is a vital part of this process, and I expect that the DOE will be responsive to the questions and concerns.

of council members.

I look forward to active engagement with the administration over the next few months to ensure the fiscal 2027 adopted budget meets the goals the council has set out.

I would also like to take a moment to thank my Chief of Staff, Jenna Klaus, Theo Solter, my Legislative and Budget Director,

Andrew Lane Lawless and Grace Amato, the committee's financial analysts, Alejandro Carvajal, the committee's counsel, and Chloe Rivera and Katie Selena, the committee's policy analysts.

And I now turn it back to Chair Lee.

Great.

Okay.

We've also been joined by Council Members Brooks Powers and Joann.

And before we pass it off to the Chancellor and his team for swearing in, I have to do this PSA announcement that I've been doing

before every hearing, which is that our public testimony, because I see a lot of our community advocates and leaders in the audience, we're doing public testimony on one full awesome day on Wednesday, January, June 10th.

That's how my brain is.

Wednesday, June 10th, this Wednesday, starting at 9.30 in the morning.

So please make sure to sign up for public testimony if you have not done so.

We will try to make it as amazing and entertaining as possible.

So with that, I'm going to hand it off to our amazing committee counsel, Brian Sarfo, to swear you all in.