Q&A
Budget needs for District 75 and other specialized programs
0:30:22
ยท
79 sec
Public Advocate Williams inquires about the budget needs for District 75 and other specialized programs. DOE officials discuss current allocations and the need for expansion.
- The DOE is able to operate specialized programs serving 4% of the population with $373 million.
- There's a need to expand specialized programs to meet demand, with over 33,100 families applying for these programs.
- The DOE is in active conversations with partners about costs for additional related service providers and special education teachers.
- No specific figure is provided for the total cost to serve everyone, indicating ongoing budget discussions.
Jumaane Williams
0:30:22
Alright.
0:30:23
3 and 17.
0:30:24
And how much do you need, do you think, for the district 75 and for the other programs you just said?
Christina Foti
0:30:32
Well, we're able to operate based on that $373,000,000 our specialized programs, which serve 4% of our population, and and, that's a total of 7,000 students.
0:30:50
The district 75 budget serves 26,000 students, and the remaining 80% are served in districts 1 through 32.
0:30:58
If we are going to continue to expand our specialized programs, we we need to make sure that, we have the funding upfront to be able to expand the programs, that our parents are are waiting for.
0:31:11
We currently have, as I said in my testimony, over 33100 families that have put applications in for specialized programs, and that's where we're seeing our 95% 4 year graduation rate.
Jumaane Williams
0:31:22
Do you have a cost of how much that sorry.
0:31:25
That would be to serve everyone?
John Hammer
0:31:32
So we're we're in active conversations with our partners in O and B and City Hall on on on costs associated with with additional related service providers and special education teachers.