CITIZENS BUDGET COMMISSION
THE THREE Cs: CROWDING, CRUMBLING AND COMPUTERS
Background on Priority Concerns for the 1998-99 School Year in New York City
The Citizens Budget Commission believes that three priority concerns for the 1998-99 school year in New York City are:
1. Crowding-too many students are in buildings that lack adequate space for them;
2. Crumbling-too many students are in buildings that are not adequately maintained and require major renovations;
3. Computers-many students lack sufficient access to modern computer technology, which is at the heart of new learning techniques and provides skills for the modern workforce.
The following provides background and historical data relating to these concerns.
CROWDING
1. Last year, fiscal year 1998, fully 55 percent of New York City's public schools were overcrowded (operating at or above capacity), up from 48 percent in fiscal year 1990. [1] During the same period, the percent of children attending overcrowded schools increased from 55 percent to 62 percent.
· 499 elementary schools were overcrowded. The number of elementary students affected by overcrowding grew by about 75,000 since 1990.
· Middle school overcrowding also worsened. In 1998, 29 percent of the schools were overcrowded, up from 24 percent in 1990. The number of students affected increased by more than 15,000.
· High school students faced the most serious conditions. In 1998, 68 percent of high schools were overcrowded; about 43,000 more students were in overcrowded schools than in 1990.
2. Crowding was mitigated somewhat last year because the Board of Education (BOE) added more than 17,000 seats, and enrollment grew less than was expected.
· The BOE added 6,376 seats in elementary schools, resulting in the percent of students in overcrowded buildings falling from 66 percent in 1997 to 62 percent in 1998.
· In middle schools 34 percent of students were enrolled in overcrowded buildings in 1997 compared to 32 percent in 1998.
3. Of the 17,053 new seats added between 1997 and 1998, fully 7,150, about four out of every ten, were in transportable classrooms placed on school grounds.
CRUMBLING
1. Adjusted for inflation, maintenance spending per square foot declined 9.3 percent between 1990 and 1998. In 1990, the BOE spent $0.99 per square foot in inflation-adjusted dollars; by 1998, the equivalent figure was only $0.90 per square foot. This is about one-third of average maintenance spending in the private sector (about $2.50). [2]
2. In 1993 the BOE estimated that eliminating its repair backlog and returning buildings to an adequate life-cycle replacement schedule would cost $1 billion per year (in 1992 dollars). [3] For the past five fiscal years, less than half that amount was spent for repairs and modernization, and for 1999 through 2002 the City has committed capital funds to cover just over two-thirds of the estimated need.
3. Given that the City spent less than half what was required, school facilities probably deteriorated in the last five years. Conclusive evidence of the schools' condition is not available. An updated assessment originally scheduled for release earlier this calendar year has been indefinitely delayed.
COMPUTERS
1. The BOE has made steady progress reducing the ratio of students to computers. In 1997 there were 13 students per computer, down from 21 students per computer in 1990.
2. Despite this progress, New York City only now is reaching a ratio that the rest of the state achieved seven years ago.
3. New York City's ratio of 13:1 in 1997 was almost twice that of the rest of the state (7:1), and a long way from the BOE's stated goal of 8:1 for elementary and middle schools, and 6:1 for high schools. [4]
[1] Hereafter all years are fiscal years.
[2] Commission on School Facilities and Maintenance Reform, Report of the Commission on School Facilities and Maintenance Reform (NY: The Commission, June 1995).
[3] New York City Board of Education, Year 2003 Master Plan: Ten Year Facilities Needs Assessment for the New York City Public Schools (NY: NYCBOE, April 1993).
[4] New York City Board of Education, Strategic Technology Plan (NY: NYCBOE, June 1997).