New York City’s fiscal year 2027 education budget has climbed to $38.6 billion following an $894 million increase, even as a new analysis from the Success Academy charter network reveals that 906 city schools — roughly half the system — had fewer than 50% of students passing state math, reading, or both exams last year. The collision of record-level spending and persistent underperformance is drawing renewed scrutiny to how the nation’s largest school district allocates its resources.
Key Takeaways
- New York City’s Department of Education budget rose by $894 million to $38.6 billion for fiscal year 2027, consuming 31% of the city’s $126 billion spending plan
- A Success Academy report found 906 NYC schools had fewer than half of students passing state math, reading, or both, enrolling 409,379 students — 43% of all public school children
- In 503 of those schools, a majority of students failed to reach proficiency in both subjects
- The city has spent nearly $1.9 billion since 2020 on “hold harmless” policies that maintain funding at schools with declining enrollment
- Per-pupil spending in New York City Public Schools has reached approximately $42,000, roughly double the national average
What Does The Success Academy Report Reveal About NYC School Performance?
The report, titled “By Any Honest Measure,” represents what Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz has described as the most comprehensive review to date of chronically low-performing schools in New York City. Success Academy staff spent months analyzing primary public records, including New York State Education Department accountability data dating back to 2012, NYC school quality reports, expenditure files, and standardized test results.
The central finding is stark. Of New York City Public Schools’ roughly 1,600 campuses, 906 had fewer than half of their students passing state exams in math, reading, or both during the 2024–25 school year. Within that group, 503 schools saw a majority of students fail to reach proficiency in both subjects. Those 906 schools collectively enroll 409,379 students, accounting for 43% of the entire public school population of approximately 912,000.
The failure rates escalate as students age. According to the Success Academy analysis, 34% of elementary school students attend a school that meets the report’s failing threshold. That figure rises to 49% for middle schoolers and 62% for high schoolers. The pattern suggests students are frequently routed from a low-performing elementary school into a low-performing middle school and then into a low-performing high school, with no structural intervention breaking the cycle.
Roughly one-third of the 906 schools identified in the report have appeared on state accountability lists since 2012, with some carrying failure designations for over a decade. The report argues that those schools have received additional funding, gone through merges and rebranding, but were never substantively turned around.
How Does The $38.6 Billion Budget Compare To Student Outcomes?
The disconnect between spending and academic outcomes is the central tension animating the budget debate. New York City Public Schools spent approximately $40 billion on public education in fiscal year 2024, translating to roughly $36,293 per pupil — a figure that the city’s Department of Education reports has since risen to an all-time high of approximately $42,000 per student. That per-pupil figure is roughly double the national average of $17,619, according to federal data.
The fiscal year 2027 budget pushes Department of Education funding to $38.6 billion, an increase of $894 million. Education spending now accounts for 31% of the city’s overall $126 billion budget. The increase arrives despite projected declines in K-12 enrollment; in the 2024–25 school year alone, New York City Public Schools enrolled 2,500 fewer pre-K students and 1,200 fewer kindergartners than the prior year.
| Metric | NYC Public Schools | National Average |
|---|---|---|
| Per-Pupil Spending | ~$42,000 | ~$17,619 |
| Schools With <50% Passing Math/Reading | 906 of ~1,600 | N/A |
| Students in Those Schools | 409,379 (43%) | N/A |
| Chronic Absenteeism Rate | ~35% | ~26% (pre-pandemic baseline) |
The Department of Education budget figure excludes pension and benefit costs, meaning the actual taxpayer burden is higher than $38.6 billion. Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, has argued that the city is effectively budgeting for students who no longer exist, calling the approach unfair and a missed opportunity to redirect spending toward programs that serve current students or build fiscal reserves.
Why Has The City’s “Hold Harmless” Policy Drawn Criticism?
A significant portion of the funding increase is tied to New York City’s “hold harmless” policy, which shields schools experiencing enrollment declines from corresponding budget cuts. Since 2020, the city has spent nearly $1.9 billion maintaining funding levels at schools that are losing students, according to Chalkbeat New York’s analysis. For fiscal year 2027 alone, at least $400 million in the budget is allocated to maintain existing funding at under-enrolled schools.
The policy was originally conceived as a pandemic-era safeguard to prevent layoffs and program cuts at schools where families temporarily pulled students out of the system. Six years later, the city has made no public plan to phase it out, even at schools where enrollment losses appear permanent and academic performance remains chronically low. No plan currently exists to close schools that are consistently failing to attract or retain families.
City Hall has defended the spending trajectory. Spokesperson Jenna Lyle stated that the administration’s approach reflects fiscal responsibility, arguing that children deserve a city that invests in them rather than one that balances its budget at their expense.
What Role Does Budget Transparency Play In This Debate?
The New York Post reported in early July that the Mamdani administration had quietly added approximately $680 million to the Department of Education’s budget beyond what was included in the mayor’s earlier proposal. The revised figures appeared in budget documents released after the City Council approved the broader spending plan on June 29, raising questions about whether all council members fully understood the scope of the education spending increase they voted to approve.
The timing drew particular scrutiny because Mayor Zohran Mamdani had spent months projecting fiscal discipline. At the November 2025 SOMOS conference, shortly after taking office, Mamdani had pledged to bring efficiency to the Department of Education by cutting contracts and consultant costs. The adopted budget moved in the opposite direction, with the Department of Education receiving its largest single-year increase in recent memory.
The Success Academy report also pointed to a structural transparency issue: the state legislature in 2015 formally replaced the term “failing school” in state regulations with “struggling school,” a linguistic change that the report argues has contributed to obscuring the depth of the academic crisis from the public.
The convergence of record-breaking education spending and stubbornly low academic outcomes presents the Mamdani administration with a question that cannot be deferred indefinitely — whether continuing to fund a system structured around shielding underperforming schools from consequences can produce results that justify $38.6 billion in annual investment.
FAQs
How much does New York City spend per student on public education? New York City Public Schools spends approximately $42,000 per student, according to the most recent available data. That figure is roughly double the national average of $17,619 and represents an all-time high for the district. The per-pupil cost is expected to rise further as enrollment continues to decline while overall spending increases.
How many NYC schools are classified as failing in the Success Academy report? The report identified 906 schools where fewer than half of students passed state math, reading, or both exams in the 2024–25 school year. Of those, 503 had a majority of students failing both subjects. The 906 schools enroll 409,379 students, or 43% of the city’s public school population.
What is New York City’s “hold harmless” education funding policy? The “hold harmless” policy maintains school budgets at prior-year levels even when enrollment declines. Since 2020, New York City has spent nearly $1.9 billion on this approach. Critics argue it directs resources toward schools that are losing families rather than toward programs that might address the enrollment losses or improve academic performance.
What are the chronic absenteeism rates in NYC public schools? Approximately 35% of New York City Public Schools students — roughly 300,000 children — were flagged as chronically absent during the most recent school year, meaning they missed at least 10% of required school days. The citywide rate has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and remains a persistent challenge for the district.
How did the $680 million get added to the NYC education budget? The additional funding appeared in adopted budget documents released after the City Council approved the fiscal year 2027 budget on June 29. The New York Post first reported the discrepancy between the mayor’s earlier proposal and the final adopted figure. City Hall has defended the increase but did not publicly announce the change before the documents were published.
What did the New York State Education Department report about student performance? The state’s official 2024–25 results showed 57% of third- through eighth-graders were proficient in math and 53% met proficiency standards in English Language Arts. State officials described the results as showing meaningful improvement, though the Success Academy report argues those topline figures obscure the concentration of failure across hundreds of individual schools.
