NEWS

Yonkers schools seek 12% spending hike to hire 380

Elizabeth Ganga
eganga@lohud.com
Yonkers school Superintendent Michael Yazurlo is asking the state to help plug an $89 million hole in the budget for next year.

YONKERS – Superintendent of Schools Michael Yazurlo has released his recommended budget for next year asking for a $62 million boost in spending, money he says is needed to hire more than 380 teachers and other staff members whose positions were lost in recent cuts.

That would include 28 guidance counselors, 20 psychologists, 28 social workers, 21 school safety officers, 46 special education teachers and 26 reading teachers.

Yazurlo's budget would increase spending about 12 percent from $522.9 million this year to $584.9 million next year. Because of a one-shot bailout from the state last year, the boost in revenue needed to fully fund the budget is $89 million.

Yonkers officials have been lobbying the state for the money and Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, said the delegation will fight hard for every dollar they can get. It will come down to the budget negotiations before the state spending plan is passed April 1.

"The challenge is this very large number of $89 million," Mayer said. "It really is a very large number."

After the state passes its budget, the Yonkers City Council will get to work and pass its budget in June. Unlike other districts in Westchester, the city funds the schools directly.

Councilman Michael Sabatino, the chairman of the Education Committee, said the cuts to things like music and sports programs have been very hard.

"I'm not surprised that he's asking for a large amount of money," Sabatino said of Yazurlo. "I don't see how we're going to be able to fulfill that wish unless we get some help from the state."

The Yonkers Council of Parent Teacher Associations will hold a forum on the budget at 6 p.m. March 4 at Roosevelt High School, 631 Tuckahoe Road. Karen Beltran, the president of the council, said they've asked Yazurlo to provide details on the programs and staffing. Mayor Mike Spano is also scheduled to talk about the district's 10-year capital plan.

Beltran said parents are glad that Yazurlo wants to restore services but they aren't declaring victory. The creation of the budget is a frustrating and uncertain process that drags into June.

"That's part of the problem, that this happens every year," she said.

Twitter: @eganga