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Q&A
Discussion on budget cuts to adult literacy programs
5:07:08
·
145 sec
Council member Alexa Avilés engages in a discussion with Ira Yankwitt about significant budget cuts to adult literacy programs and their impact on services.
- Yankwitt explains the reduction from 18,000 to 9,000 people served due to budget cuts
- He highlights the city council's crucial role in preserving services through discretionary funding
- The administration's funding for DYCD contracted programs dropped from $17 million in FY '24 to $12 million in FY '25 and '26
Alexa Avilés
5:07:08
I'd love to you mentioned you mentioned this incredible cut from fiscal twenty four, '18 thousand people served, to suddenly 9,000 in fiscal twenty six.
5:07:29
Can you tell us a little bit about what is happening there and bring me a little sanity in this insanity.
Ira Yankwitt
5:07:39
I can do the former but probably not the latter, so my apologies in advance.
5:07:43
Yes.
5:07:45
So I should preface this by saying that when eventually DYCD and the administration come to testify and they share the numbers of students that will be served through adult literacy programs for this year, the number will be much higher than that 9,100 number thanks to the city council, thanks to your investment through your discretionary funding.
5:08:07
So please don't allow the administration to take credit for the investment the council has made.
5:08:16
Last year, the council made the single largest investment in community based adult literacy funding in the last forty years, and that is what's preserved seats and opportunities for students.
5:08:30
Having said that, yes, the administration went from $17,000,000 in funding for DYCD contracted programs in FY '24 to $12,000,000 in FY '25.
5:08:45
They've maintained that level in their preliminary budget for FY '26.
5:08:49
That's a $5,000,000 drop plus because of a modest increase in the investment dollars per student, the number of students that were projected to be served went down even more a little bit.
5:09:02
So that's how you get from 18,000 to nine thousand one eighteen.
5:09:06
Again, the council has invested $16,500,000 in adult literacy funding through its discretionary funding, 14.1 about has been invested in these very programs.
5:09:20
So thankfully, we will see higher numbers than that 9,100, but if all we were left with in FY twenty six was that $12,000,000 in the mayor's preliminary budget, we would only see 9,000 students being served.