1. \ School Overcrowding & Class Size Citywide and in District 27 schools Sebastian Spitz and Leonie Haimson Class Size Matters November 2017

2. In District 27, average K-3 class sizes fell slightly by
In District 27, average K-3 class sizes fell slightly by .6 students per class; but remain above citywide average and more than 4 students above C4E goals.

3. Average class size grades 4-8 fell by
Average class size grades 4-8 fell by .4 students per class; still above C4E goals by 3.8 students & slightly above citywide average

4. Citywide average HS class sizes remained the same, still far above C4E goals

5. DOE promised State Ed in 2014 to focus on reducing class size at Renewal schools
Yet 38% of Renewal schools did NOT reduce average class sizes
73% continue to have maximum class sizes of 30 or more in
NO renewal schools capped class sizes at C4E levels

6. 6 Renewal Schools including HS in District 27
August Martin High School, Richmond Hill High School, John Adams High School, PS/M.S. 042 R. Vernam, P.S. 197 The Ocean School, M.S. 053 Brian Piccolo
Five out of the six schools have maximum class sizes of 30 or more this year
Three of the Renewal schools increased class sizes from 2014 to 2017, while three decreased class sizes
From , August Martin HS did NOT reduce class sizes and did NOT meet DOE’s graduation rate goal of 67% last year.

7. District 27 Overcrowding
51% of K-8 schools in District 27 were overcrowded (at or above 100% target utilization) as of latest available data.
67% or 22,553 D27 K-8 students were in overcrowded schools
125 cluster rooms were missing from District 27 schools according to DOE’s utilization formula
Data source: Blue Book.

8. Scope of school overcrowding citywide
More than 565,000 students (55% of total) were enrolled in overcrowded schools in – about 50,000 more than year before.
About 355,000 (67% of total) elementary students were enrolled in overcrowded schools
About 43,000 (28% of total) middle school students were enrolled in overcrowded schools
About 168,000 (48% of total) high school students were enrolled in overcrowded schools Data: Schools at or above 100% according to SCA “Blue Book”

9. Is Pre-K expansion making overcrowding worse?
More than half of pre-K students in DOE buildings were in schools with a utilization rate of 100% or more last year
In D27, 62.5% (1020) of pre-K students were in schools at or above 100% utilization in
In , 63.1% (920) of pre-K students were in these same schools

10. Why are NYC schools so overcrowded?
Bloomberg claimed to have created 100,000 new seats between 2004 and 2013
Yet only 45, 000 new NET seats created if seat loss taken into account
About 55,000 seats were lost due to lapsed leases, elimination of TCUs (trailers), annexes, and mini- buildings
Also, enrollment grew fast especially at the elementary school level
The following charts are from our recent Seat Loss report, available online at

11. Enrollment grew faster than new seats in NYC elementary schools

12. the district lost over net 200 seats! (2 annexes & some TCUS)
In District 27, while elementary school enrollment grew by nearly 1700,
the district lost over net 200 seats! (2 annexes & some TCUS)

13. While 45,000 net seats were gained citywide, nearly all were
filled by the increased number of charter school students

14. 12 Districts average 100% or more utilization, including D27 at 100% Data Source: Blue Book

15. 33 Schools in District 27 at or over 100% - Data Source: 2015-2016 Blue Book

16. More District 27 overcrowded schools Data Source: 2015-2016 Blue Book

17. Adopted DOE five-year capital plan still very underfunded
Funds fewer than 45,000 seats citywide – about half necessary to alleviate current overcrowding and accommodate enrollment growth
Only 29% of seats compared have sites and in process of scope and design.
There is a huge variation across districts in the number and percent of seats funded compared to DOE’s estimate of need.
Our estimate is that far more seats are needed than DOE estimates to address school overcrowding

19. Only 56% seats funded compared to need in D27 according to DOE
55% citywide
Data: Feb capital plan
Districts not included above have NO need for new seats according to DOE

20. DOE claims no more HS seats needed in Manhattan, Bronx or Brooklyn

21. DOE Capacity formula underestimates overcrowding by assuming overly large class sizes
Relies on school capacity formula that assumes class sizes larger than current averages grades 4-12 (28 students in 4-8th grades; 30 in HS)
Thus the formula would tend to force class sizes even higher
DOE Blue Book working group urged school capacity be aligned with smaller classes but Mayor’s office rejected that recommendation in July 2015

22. Problems with the housing starts & CEQR formula used to project enrollment
CEQR (City Environmental Quality Review) formula based on census data 20 years old & hasn’t been updated since preK expanded in DOE schools
In 20 of 32 school districts, NO difference between housing start data for 5 yr and 10 yr projections;
Five-year housing start data estimates 1603 new housing units built in D27 between but only 37 in the following five years
Data source: NYC SCA, Projected new Housing starts used in Enrollment projections, capital plan, March 2017

23. We need a new planning process for schools
Without significant reforms, given rapid pace of development throughout the city, school overcrowding will become even worse
We need reforms so that schools are built along with new housing and not years later
In most large states and districts, developers have to pay an “impact fee” to help fund new infrastructure including schools, but not in NYC
Speaker Mark-Viverito formed a City Council working group to come up with proposals to reform school planning and siting before the end of 2017

24. We also filed a class size complaint vs DOE
We filed a legal complaint in July with the NY State Ed Department against DOE for their failure to reduce class size
Complaint joined by Public Advocate Tish James, Alliance for Quality Education & 9 NYC public school parents
The C4E law passed in 2007 required NYC to lower class sizes in all grades
Instead class sizes have increased substantially since 2007
If the Commissioner rules against us we will take the issue to court

25. How can you help?
We helped the President of CEC6 to file a FERPA complaint about charter school mailings and recruitment which is a violation of federal student privacy law and will be asking CECs to pass a resolution on this
We will also be asking for your help in urging the Commissioner to rule on our class size complaint
Come to our annual Parent Action Conference on Jan. 20, co-sponsored by NYC Kids PAC at the Spruce St. School near City Hall
Join our mailing list at or up-for-our-newsletter/
Any questions? You can also ask us at or call us at