1. Class Sizes and school overcrowding citywide and in D6 : What can be done? CEC D6 presentation in conjunction with the Nov Capital Plan Leonie Haimson Class Size Matters 2/16/17

2. In District 6, average K-3 class size fell by almost 1 student per class this fall; but remains 3 students above the original C4E goals set by DOE of 20 students per class . [data source: DOE Nov. class size reports]

3. D6 average class sizes in 4-8 fell slightly by
D6 average class sizes in 4-8 fell slightly by .2; but remain more than 2 students over C4E goals of 23 [data source: DOE Nov. class size reports].

4. New November 2016 capital plan still underfunded
Would fund less than 45,000 seats – about 54 % of school seats necessary to alleviate current overcrowding and accommodate enrollment growth, according to DOE
Only 27% of seats needed have actual sites and are in process of scope and design.
Our estimates are that the actual need is much greater than DOE projects;
Over 500,000 students are currently in overcrowded schools according to DOE data
There are no new seats for D6 in the plan nor any new seats for Manhattan HS.

5. Existing overcrowding in District 6
Though on average, D6 was underutilized according to DOE, there were 20 schools last year (including HS) that were overcrowded - nearly 1/3 of schools in the district.
Nearly 10,000 students were crammed into those 20 schools.
There was a shortage of 84 cluster rooms in 63 schools according to the DOE utilization formula
This includes 32 missing cluster rooms in schools the DOE claims to be under 100% utilization.

7. Our estimates suggest that the actual unfunded need is much higher
DOE school capacity formula is based on average class sizes larger than currently exist in NYC schools (28 students per class in 4-8th grades; 30 in HS)
Even using DOE’s own methods, their estimates of need are less than would follow from rapid population growth and development in many districts
Their enrollment projections have proven faulty many times
Their estimates using housing starts are based on Census data more than 16 years old.
Data source:

8. School siting dysfunctional as well --There are districts where schools have been funded for more than ten years without a single school sited or built ; --School Construction Authority only has one person on staff per borough looking for sites for schools; ---The SCA never uses eminent domain to acquire sites unless the property has recently been on the market; They never “cold call” meaning inquire when they’ve identified good sites before they’re for sale; --- There have been more than 4,000 seats funded for 3 years in the “class size reduction” category with only three small projects identified

9. We need a new planning process for schools -- So that schools are built efficiently along with new housing and not years afterwards --Developers should have to pay into a fund for new schools or provide space for a new school in their development ---In most large states and districts, developers have to pay an “impact fee” to help fund new infrastructure including schools, but not in NYC In NYC planning process, a new residential development has to increase overcrowding by at least 5% percent to even consider the need for a new school – even in neighborhoods where the schools are ALREADY very overcrowded That’s why we need a Commission to come up with proposals to improve the school planning and siting process.

10. What can you do. --Come to the Feb
What can you do? --Come to the Feb. 28 City Council hearing at City Hall with ideas for how to improve school planning & siting ---Come and testify or just come at 10:00 AM to show your support; bring signs! ---Public testimony will begin about 1 PM. If you can’t attend, Council staff the day before with your testimony to ---Or us at with your comments so we can put them into our written testimony ---Sign up for our newsletter at for updates on the latest developments

11. Issue of lead in school water LEAD IN NYC SCHOOL WATER -- In its first round of testing last year, DOE did not follow the recommended protocol and instead flushed out water from pipes first which diminishes lead levels This discredited method was NOT recommended by EPA & was used by the govt in Flint initially to minimize the problem of lead in their water In June 2016, the NY legislature passed a new law to require that schools test the “first draw” to more accurately assess lead levels in the drinking water Though the Gov. didn’t sign the law until Sept., many schools districts started retesting the water over the summer expecting that the law would be approved Emergency regs issued Sept. 6; the state deadline for retesting in all schools was Oct. 31, Parents and others supposed to be informed within six weeks of testing, and districts to report all results to the state no later than November 11,  

12. But what happened in NYC
But what happened in NYC? -- Even after law passed, DOE refused to adopt the new protocols and insisted on testing lead as previously. “The results should be thrown into the garbage, and the city should start over,” said Marc Edwards, the expert who uncovered the Flint crisis. ---DOE didn’t start retesting water according to new protocol until sometime his winter As of Jan. 27, 96% schools in state outside of NYC had finished testing; Yet NYC had submitted results for less than 1/3 of schools, according to NYS Dept. of Health; and would not have complete results until mid So far, 9% of water outlets in NYC schools tested are above the action level of 15 parts per billion according to DOH & there are affected outlets in about 750 school buildings.

13. American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines
--- In June 2016 American Academy of Pediatrics came out with new guidelines that lead in school water should be limited to 1 part per billion, vs. 15 parts per billion in the NY law Why? Because as AAP stated, ”There is no identified threshold or safe level of lead in blood…No Amount of Lead Exposure is Safe for Children.” ---Children with blood levels even less than 5 micrograms per deciliter have been shown to have lower IQ , lower test scores, and higher rates of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
--- Dr. Marc Edwards: "Frankly, a onetime exposure to even 100 parts per billion is a concern.” (Chicago Tribune, June 19, 2016)
---DC schools have adopted the new AAP guidelines of 1 part PB, have installed filters in schools and libraries, and tested students at some of the affected schools.*

15. What’s the situation in NYC
What’s the situation in NYC? -- Rates of lead poisoning in children have been declining overall But as of the latest available data (2015), nearly 2% of NYC children under six have blood levels of 5 mcg/dL or more More reading: Report to the NYC Council on Progress in Preventing Childhood Lead Poisoning, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, September 30,  Get the Lead Out: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water for Our Children at School, Environment America Research & Policy Center, February District Government Adopts New Lead Testing Policy, June 21,