Mayor Adams restores early childhood education funding after parent backlash

Facing mounting political pressure from parents and the New York City Council, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday he will restore more than $500 million in education funding — including additional support for 3-K and other programs that relied on expiring federal stimulus money.

The announcement follows growing outrage from parents, councilmembers and even children’s social media star Ms. Rachel, who encouraged her millions of followers to advocate for childcare funding earlier this week. Adams pledged an additional $92 million for free preschool for 3-year-olds, and $56 million in pre-K special education, where more than 1,000 young children are on waitlists for seats.

“We heard you, we see you, we see your children and we continue to be committed to them,” Adams said.

In a joint announcement with Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, the mayor said stronger revenues allowed him to roll back planned cuts from the education budget and fill some of the gap from the expiring stimulus dollars. City Hall and the City Council are in the midst of negotiations over the budget, with cuts to early childhood education featuring prominently in the talks.

“We are sticking our fingers in the couch cushions, finding every quarter we can,” Mayor Adams said.

Advocates pointed out that, even with additional funding, there remains a roughly $500 million fiscal cliff from loss of the the federal funds.

“Mayor Adams' announcement today is a testament to the influence of parents organizing as well as the advocacy from the City Council,” said Rebecca Bailin, executive director of advocacy organization New Yorkers United for Child Care. “While the mayor's decision to reverse some funding cuts is a step in the right direction, it falls entirely short of the investment and infrastructure needed to fund a truly universal 3-K and pre-K as so many parents in New York City thought they could rely on.”

Since taking office, Adams has cut $400 million from early childhood education by scaling back plans to expand the city’s free preschool program for 3-year-olds and proposing cuts to vacant seats.

He’s argued that 3-K has been mismanaged, and that overall supply outstrips demand. But in some parts of the city competition for 3-K seats is fierce. Adams has said the expiration of federal funds, which the de Blasio Administration used to pay for 3-K, forced him to make the cuts.

For months, parents and advocates have railed against the cuts, saying the move will reduce access to crucial childcare, forcing more families to leave New York City. They argue the seats are only vacant because applications are cumbersome, and the city has not done enough outreach.

In his announcement, Adams said he would also add funding to increase outreach to parents.

“We don’t want any seat to go unused,” he said.

Other programs that will benefit from the additional funding include money for 500 social workers and psychologists, resources for families at community schools, arts and sports. Many parents and advocates have said these initiatives have become essential for students still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

The city received about $7 billion total in federal stimulus funding spread over the past four years.

Council Speaker Adams called the mayor’s announcement “a welcome step forward.”