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Urgent Need for Seats in Capital Plan - Overcrowding and Class Size Data in District 29

This report highlights the critical levels of overcrowding in schools and the increasing class sizes in District 29. It emphasizes the discrepancy between the proposed capital plan and the real need for seats, urging for immediate action to alleviate the current overcrowding crisis.

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Urgent Need for Seats in Capital Plan - Overcrowding and Class Size Data in District 29

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  1. UnMet need for seats in New 2015-2019 capital planIncluding class size and overcrowding data for Community School district 29 Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters July 2014

  2. School Utilization Rates at critical levels • Citywide, schools have become more overcrowded over last six years. More than 480,000 students citywide are in extremely overcrowded buildings. • Elementary schools avg. building utilization “target” rates at 97.4%; median at 102%. High schools are not far behind at 95.2%. • High ES rates in all boroughs, including D10 and D11 in the Bronx 108% and 105.6%, respectively. • In Queens, D24 (120.6%), D25 (109.7%), D26 (110%), D27 (106.1%), and D30 (107.3%) all extremely overcrowded. • At the MS level, D20 in Brooklyn, D24, and D25 in Queens have building utilization rates over 95%. • Queens high school buildings have avg. utilization rate of 110.7% and Staten Island high school buildings 103.2%. Data source: Blue Book target utilization rates 2012-2013

  3. Average Utilization Rates City-Wide 2012-2013 Source: 2012-2013 DOE Blue Book

  4. Proposed capital plan vs. needs for seats • Proposed capital plan has (at most) 38,754 seats – and this if Cuomo’s “Smart School” bond act is approved. (806 more seats funded only for design) • Plan admits real need of 49,245 (though doesn’t explain how this figure was derived). • DOE’s consultants project enrollment increases of 60,000-70,000 students by 2021 • At least 30,000 seats needed to alleviate current overcrowding for just those districts that average above 100%. • Conclusion: real need for seats at least 100,000.

  5. Proposed capital plan vs. needs for seats part II • These figures do not capture overcrowding at neighborhood level, including schools with K waiting lists, or need to expand pre-K, reduce class size, restore cluster rooms, or provide space for charters as required in new state law. • Does not capture need to replace trailers with capacity of more than 10,890 seats. • Though DOE counts only 7,158 students attending class in TCUs, actual number is far higher & likely over 10,000. • Also, DOE utilization figures underestimate actual overcrowding according to most experts and Chancellor, who has appointed a “Blue Book” taskforce to improve them. • Revised utilization formula should be aligned to smaller classes, dedicated rooms for art, music, special education services, and more.

  6. Class sizes have increased for six years in a row • Despite provisions in 2007 state law requiring NYC reduce class sizes, classes in K-3 in 2013-2014 largest since 1998; in grades 4-8 largest since 2002. • K-3 average class size was 24.9 (Gen Ed, inclusion & gifted classes) compared to 20.9 in 2007, increase of 19%. • In grades 4-8, the average class size was 26.8, compared to 25.1 in 2007 –increase of 6.8%. • HS “core” academic classes, class size average 26.7, up slightly since 2007.  (Yet DOE’s measure of HS class sizes is inaccurate and their methodology changes, so estimates cannot be relied upon.) • Averages do NOT tell the whole story – as more than 330,000 students were in classes of 30 or more in 2013-2014. • There were 40,268 kids in K-3 in classes of 30 or more in 2013-2014 – an increase of nearly 14% compared to the year before. • The number of teachers decreased by over 5000 between 2007-2010, according to the Mayor’s Management Report, despite rising enrollment.

  7. Class sizes in CSD 29 have increased in grades K-3 by 20.7% since 2008, far above Contracts for Excellence goals Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

  8. CSD 29’s class sizes in grades 4-8 have increased by 3.9% since 2006 and are far above Contracts for Excellence goals Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

  9. Class sizes city-wide have increased in core HS classes as well, by 2.3% since 2007, though the DOE data is unreliable* *DOE’s class size data is unreliable & their methodology for calculating HS averages have changed year to year Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

  10. CSD 29 Schools with large class sizes • At the Kindergarten level, there are 12 schools in District 29 with with an average class size of 25 or more, according to DOE’s November 2013 report. • In grades 1-3, there are 13 schools in District 29 with at least one grade level averaging 30 students per class or more. • PS 52, PS 95, PS 176, PS/IS 116, and PS/IS 268 have at least two grade levels in 1-3 with 30 or more students. • In grades 4-8, 17 schools have at least one grade level with an average class size of 30 or more.

  11. Examples of schools in CSD 29 with large class sizes, K-3

  12. School Utilization Rates at critical levels • Citywide, elementary schools avg. building utilization rates are at 97.4%; the median utilization rate is at 102%, high schools are not far behind at 95.2%. • In eleven districts, elementary school average above 100%; 20 districts average above 90%. • High schools in Queens (110.7%) and Staten Island (103.2%) average above 100%. • At the MS level, D20 in Brooklyn, D24, and D25 in Queens have building utilization rates over 95%. • There are more than 30,000 seats just to bring those districts to 100% utilization. Data source: Blue Book target utilization rates 2012-2013

  13. # of Seats currently needed to bring buildings to 100% or less *These figures are the difference between capacity & enrollment in the organizational target # in 2012-2013 Blue Book Source: 2012-2013 DOE Blue Book

  14. Average Utilization Rates in CSD 29 compared to City-Wide 2012-2013D29ES building utilization rate at 95.6%, close to citywide average Source: 2012-2013 DOE Blue Book 7,295 HS Seats in Queens needed to reach 100% building utilization

  15. Over-utilized ES buildings in CSD 29 and Queens HS • There are 17 elementary school buildings in CSD 29 that are 100% utilization or higher. The seat need is over 1,500 students. • At 26 over-utilized Queens HS buildings, there is a seat need for more than 13,000 students. • Please note that the seat need here is higher because it takes into account all buildings that are over-utilized (100% or more) rather than the need averaged across the district.

  16. 17 CSD 29 ES buildings are over-utilized *1,558 ES seats needed to reach 100% building utilization

  17. 26 Queens High School Buildings are over-utilized *13,331 HS seats needed to reach 100% building utilization

  18. New Seats in Capital Plan and DOE Enrollment Projections for District 29 ~444 to 804 new students by 2021 according to enrollment projections but 912 seats are being added.

  19. 2014 Kindergarten Wait Lists in CSD 29 • According to DOE, the wait list for zoned Kindergarten spots in 2014 is smaller citywide than in 2013, with 1,242 zoned students on wait lists as of April 21, 2014. • 19 of 32 school districts currently have at least one school with a waiting list. • 63 schools have zoned wait lists: 20 in Brooklyn, 17 in Queens, 11 in Manhattan, 11 in The Bronx, and 4 in Staten Island. • DOE less transparent than ever: the number of zoned students for particular schools if less than 10 is not revealed – and methodology for creating wait lists unexplained. • Over 7,000 families got none of their choices but unclear how many were put on wait list for their zoned school. • There were no schools in District 29 with waiting lists.

  20. Number of students in CSD 29 trailers • In CSD 29, according to the 2012-2013 TCU Report, there are at least 509 elementary and middle school students in 21 TCUs at ten schools: PS 33, PS 38, PS 52, PS 95, PS 116, PS 131, PS 132, PS 156, and PS 176.

  21. Number of students in Queens HS trailers • At the high school level, there are at least 38 TCUs at eight Queens high schools: John Adams, Bayside, Cardozo, Richmond Hill, William Bryant, John Bowne, Francis Lewis, and Jamaica Learning Center. • All but John Adams HS did not have enrollment figures listed in the report and are not counted in DOE stats on students attending class in trailers. • There are 68 classrooms in these 38 TCUs and the total capacity is 1,984 across the 8 HS. None of these students are included in the 7,158 total that DOE reports attend classes in TCUs.

  22. New seats need for CSD 29 • Capital Plan allocates just 640 seats for FY 2015-2019 for CSD 29. • To reduce overcrowding, and bring building utilization to 100% at the elementary school level, 1,558 seats are needed. • If the DOE’s enrollment projections are accurate, at least 440 seats are needed in the district to meet the enrollment projections for the next decade (2011-2021). • To remove elementary and middle school students from trailers, another 509 seats are needed to eliminate the need for trailers in elementary and middle schools across CSD 29. • Therefore, at least 2,500 elementaryand middle school seats are needed beyond what the FY 2015-2019 Capital Plan has for CSD 29.

  23. Unmet need critical in Queens high schools • More than 7,200 seats in Queens HS are needed to reduce present overcrowding and bring building utilization to 100%. • These figures underestimate actual level of overcrowding, according to most principals. • About 2,000 seats are needed to remove Queens high school students from schools with trailers (from capacity figures). • DOE consultants project an increase in Queens high school enrollment of 12,567- 12,980 by 2021. • Yet only 2,802 Queens HS seats proposed in five-year plan, a shortage of more than 17,000 seats.

  24. New charter provisions passed in state budget • Any charter co-located in a NYC school building cannot be evicted and has veto powers before they leave the building – even if they are expanding and squeezing out NYC public school students.  • This includes any charter co-location agreed to before 2014 – including the three Success charter schools approved right before Bloomberg left office. • Any new or charter school in NYC adding grade levels must be “provided access to facilities” w/in five months of asking for it. • If they don’t like the space offered by the city, they can appeal to the Commissioner King, who is a former charter school director and has never ruled against a charter school. • .  • NO FISCAL IMPACT statement or analysis accompanying this bill. • In addition, the state will provide all charter schools with per-pupil funding increases, amounting to $500 over the next 3 years and provide them funding for pre-K.

  25. Charter space provisions ONLY apply to NYC • Upstate legislators fought off making charters eligible for state facilities funds – which would have been better for NYC. • Yet legislators did not block these onerous provisions for NYC , where we have the most expensive real estate & the most overcrowded schools in the state. • If the DOE doesn’t offer charter schools free space, the city  must pay for a school’s rent in private space or give them an extra 20 percent over their operating aid every year going forward. • After the city spends $40 million per year on charter rent, the state will begin chipping in 60% of additional cost.

  26. How many charters will there be entitled to free space? • We have 183 charters in NYC, 119 in co-located space. • 22 new charters are approved to open next year or the year after, all entitled to free space. • 52 additional charter schools left to approve until we reach the cap raised in 2010 – with legislative approval – all entitled to free space. • Any new or existing co-located charter can also be authorized to expand grade levels through HS and will be entitled to free space. • DOE will be paying $5.4 M in annual rent for four years for 3 Success Academy schools that only have 484 students next year – at a cost of $11,000 per student. • This doesn’t count the unknown renovation costs in these 3 schools, also paid for by the city.

  27. Blue book data & Utilization formula inaccurate & underestimates actual level of overcrowding • Class sizes in grades 4-12 larger than current averages & far above goals in city’s C4E plan & will likely force class sizes upwards • Doesn’t require full complement of cluster rooms or special needs students to have dedicated spaces for their mandated services • Doesn’t properly account for students now housed in trailers in elementary and middle schools. • Doesn’t account for co-locations which subtract about 10% of total space and eat up classrooms with replicated administrative & cluster rooms. Small schools use space less efficiently • Instructional footprint shrank full size classroom only 500 sq. feet min., risking building code/safety violations at many schools as 20-35 sq feet per student required. • Special ed classrooms defined as only 240-499 sqft, thought State Ed guidelines call for 75 sqft per child with special needs; classrooms this small would allow only 3- 7 students.

  28. Comparison of class sizes in Blue book compared to current averages & Contract for excellence goals *DOE reported HS class sizes unreliable

  29. Some Recommendations • 38,000 seats in capital plan is too low, esp. given existing overcrowding, projected enrollment, preK expansion, class size reduction, new mandates to provide charter schools with space • Also very low as compared to Mayor’s plan to create or preserve 200,000 affordable housing units. • Council should expand the seats in five year capital plan. • Commission an independent analysis by City Comptroller, IBO or other agency. • Adopt reforms to planning process so that schools are built along with housing in future through mandatory inclusionary zoning, impact fees etc. • Over half of all states and 60% of large cities have impact fees, requiring developers to pay for costs of infrastructure improvements, including schools.

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