Statement:Justin Krebs on School Budget Clawbacks

Following the announcement from a coalition of city councilmembers that the school budget clawbacks have disproportionately hurt students of color, Justin Krebs (Secretary, District 15 President's Council; Exec. Board Member, PS39 PA) issued the following statement:

“Clawing back school budgets speaks to mistaken priorities. It’s unconscionable that it’s now being reported that these budget clawbacks are being used to predominantly punish schools with low income kids and kids of color. Administrators and teachers shouldn’t have to think about how much their budgets are getting cut,” said Krebs. “They’ve had to deal with enough already—principals, parents, teachers and most of all our kids, deserve better. A 25% reduction of the clawback is a step—but it’s not enough.. Schools need full amnesty now—and additional funding to make schools safe for students and teachers, to tackle the new approaches to learning, and to really focus on how to support kids after two disrupted years.”

“The fact that the clawbacks are being reduced shows that pressure is working. It shows this isn’t final and we need to keep fighting. On the District 15 President’s Council, we helped bring more voices to the fight working with PS9 and other schools across the city to roll back these regressive budget clawbacks. We’re not going to stop until every cent that was promised to our kids is returned to where it belongs—in our school’s hands,” said Krebs.