Mayor Eric Adams at Bayside High School in Queens.A state appeals court has blocked last week’s decision by a judge to invalidate New York City’s education budget and call for a reconsideration between the mayor’s office and the City Council.
In its appeal, the city’s attorneys criticized the lower court’s ruling, saying it was based on a “single alleged procedural imperfection,” thus upending a “hugely consequential, wide-ranging, and intricate budgetary process,” and caused chaos for principals and other administrators who are currently planning for the coming school year.
“With schools reopening in five short weeks, DOE cannot be left in budgetary ‘limbo,’” the city’s appeal read. “It is destabilizing, at a bare minimum, to turn back the clock on spending as if this year never occurred, pretending that DOE is still flush with federal pandemic relief, and that student enrollment remains at past levels.”