Restored City Funding for the CUNY Remains Insufficient
In the final hours of City budget wrangling, we saw a restoration of $15 million in operating support to CUNY’s community colleges. In his time in office, the Mayor has taken $95 million in operating money from us and our students. Given the updated revenue projections, this is inexcusable.
Our situation could have been worse. We’re grateful for the efforts of Speaker Adams and members of the Council who did their best to move the Mayor and made CUNY a priority in the funds they allocate. The work of PSC members and staff, and our partnership with the People’s Plan coalition, was critical in cementing the Council’s support.
Separate from the community college operating budget, the City Council provided funds to expand these programs:
- CUNY Reconnect: $5.9 million
- CUNY Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE): $10.1 million
- CUNY ASAP for All: $4.5 million
And renewed these annual items:
- CUNY Social Work Fellows: $500,000
- CUNY Citizenship Now!: $3 million
- Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship: $15.7 million
- CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies: $1.2 million
- Food Insecurity Program: $875,000
- CUNY Childcare Expansion $600,000
- Confronting Religious and Ethnic Discrimination: $500,000
- Care Workers for Our Future: $400,000
- CUNY Creative Arts: $400,000
- CUNY STEM: $1 million
- CUNY Research Institutes: $4.5 million
Thanks to all PSC members who came out to City budget rallies, provided testimony at Council hearings, called their council members and sent letters to the Mayor.
April 2024: PSC members and students testify before the City Council’s Committee on Higher Education about the need to fully fund our community colleges including fixing our buildings so they’ll stop leaking and to prevent moldy ceiling tiles from falling on our heads.
Resources
- AMNY Op-Ed: Op-ed | Funding, not cutting, CUNY is a wise investment, June 13, 2024
- City Budget Platform FY2025
- PSC Testimony on New York City Council FY2025 Preliminary Budget
- CUNY Mismanagement Slides, March 4, 2024
- Mid-year cuts to nine CUNY colleges
- Flier: Join the Fight to Save CUNY
- CUNY’s University Budget Request, Approved December 18, 2023
Timeline
- June 28: Statement on the NYC Budget for Fiscal Year 2025
- June 20: Hundreds of New Yorkers Rally for A Peoples Budget
- May 2: Virtual Lobby Day- CUNY at the Council
- Mar 6: People’s Budget Launch
- Jan 16: PSC CUNY Statement on Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams’s Preliminary Executive Budgets
- Jan 9: Email — Opposing New Budget Cuts at 9 CUNY Colleges
- Dec 18: President James Davis Calling out Management and the CUNY Board of Trustees
- Dec 15: Testify TOMORROW (Friday, December 15) against the Admin’s new, deeper cuts
- Dec 2: 1000+ Sing Out, Shout Out for #APeoplesCUNY
Published: January 18, 2024 | Last Modified: July 15, 2024
