QUESTION
Will OMB increase funds for School Construction Authority and address teacher shortage to meet class size law?
2:21:17
·
140 sec
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) faces challenges in funding the School Construction Authority (SCA) and hiring 9,000 teachers to comply with the state class size law.
- OMB acknowledges the insufficient $41.44 billion capital budget for SCA under current plans.
- Debt capacity constraints limit OMB’s ability to increase funding for SCA, permitting only an $8 billion addition.
- OMB is working with the state for a funding expansion and advocating in Albany for a $19 billion increase, though only $12 billion is granted so far.
- The Department of Education (DOE) estimates a need for 9,000 new teachers to comply with the class size law by 2027-2028, highlighting the efforts and challenges in meeting this requirement.
Rita Joseph
2:21:17
There's currently 41.44,100,000,000 capital budget for new capacity class size compliance with the CA's new fiscal 2529.
2:21:27
Capital plan SCA has stated that it's not enough funding to comply with the state class size law.
2:21:32
The city required to be fully compliant with the law by 2027 to 2028.
2:21:37
This year, does OMB intend to authorize increasing funds SCA in the next amendment to the plan.
Jacques Jiha
2:21:44
Yeah.
2:21:44
As I said to you again before, this is a challenge with debt capacity.
2:21:49
That capacity is a good challenge.
2:21:52
And as a result, we could only accommodate $8,000,000,000 of new capital in the plan for SCA, because as I said, we have SCA, we have the Board bridge, we have the Bikvi, All these things have to be accommodated.
2:22:10
We think the constraints that we have, which is a very small amount of that capacity left.
2:22:16
So that's the reason why we've been working with the state to get an expansion of the TSA.
2:22:22
And we work on the advocacy in Albany to work with us, to basically lobby the state, to give us the expansion that we're asking them, which is $19,000,000,000 but instead we're only getting 12.
Rita Joseph
2:22:35
So you yes.
2:22:36
So the additional funds you needed is 19,000,000,000.
2:22:40
What about educators?
2:22:41
You so your deal, we will need to add thousands of teachers to comply with this law.
2:22:44
DOE's estimate for the new numbers is 9000.
2:22:47
Is DO is ONB working with DOE to add a additional budget for headcount in 2025 and out years?
Jacques Jiha
2:22:55
We are currently in compliance, and we're continuing to discuss our year needs.
2:23:00
As we proceed.
2:23:02
But again, it's a challenge.
2:23:04
It's 9000 teachers, like you said.
2:23:08
Finding 9000 teachers is not gonna be easy.
2:23:11
So, again, we will continue work with you and work with the DOE.
2:23:17
And try to as best as we can, try to work on what it needs going forward, but it's gonna be very challenging.
Rita Joseph
2:23:23
But historically, we've always had shortage areas, all those areas looking to be filled historically.
2:23:27
2 decades in the classroom, we still had a lot of areas that were always shortage of interest
Jacques Jiha
2:23:32
in the American funding of them.
2:23:34
I just or 9000.
Rita Joseph
2:23:35
Well, you need to fill in the ones that you cannot get.
2:23:37
Mhmm.