Ten Ways to Cut Costs in New York Public Schools without Hurting the Classroom

New York State instituted dramatic cuts to public education two years in a row. Across the state, school districts are cutting programs, teachers, and educational opportunities for students. There has been a lot of talk about cost savings, but little focus on specific proposals. The following is a list of ten realistic proposals to cut costs in public education. Most require changes in state law in order to remove barriers that prevent school districts from implementing these changes. Some require cooperation among school districts and between school districts and other local governments, BOCES and libraries. Even initiatives that do not require legislative action by the state would benefit from statewide leadership to proactively promote significant and sensible cost savings. If New York State, and local school districts do not take the necessary steps to implement these cost saving initiatives, then the cuts will come out of the classrooms and will have permanent and damaging impacts on the education of our students, particularly in the highest need schools.