Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

"The Mayor and the City Council this year have given the Board of Education and Chancellor the most money in history -- more than 30 percent of the entire City budget. It is inconceivable that this unprecedented budget, totaling $12 billion, cannot be better managed so that more money goes into the classroom instead of being soaked up by bureaucracy. To date, the Mayor has not been presented with any coherent plan that would bring about meaningful reform of the school system and justify the need for even more than $12 billion in funding. The Mayor is also very concerned that the Board lost $2.8 billion of its current school construction budget and would look at any plan for further spending with appropriate skepticism.

"With all the political spinning, the union heads and candidates currying their favor have become more obsessed with spending money than with improving schools and creating accountability. "

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