Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum

Releases & Statements

Gotbaum Proposes Spending Stadium $$ on Schools

“What’s more important,” asks Gotbaum, “our children’s future or a football stadium?”

In a detailed plan released today, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum demanded that instead of spending taxpayer money on an ill-conceived Jets stadium, the Bloomberg Administration redirect the $600 million in public funding to the improvement of its public school system. In a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, Gotbaum outlined her proposal and demonstrated the advantage of using the $600 million to reduce class sizes, create and renovate school libraries, and replace deteriorating windows to ensure all classroom space can be used.

Among the specific allocations recommended in the letter are:

$218.5 million to create 3,973 new classroom seats in grades 4-12

$169.3 million to create libraries in the 125 schools that do not have one

$61.6 million to replace windows at 30 schools, maximizing classroom space

“You and I agree that improving the public education system is the City’s number one priority,” Gotbaum told the Mayor. “At a time when our student’s educational needs are so great, the City could make far better use of the $600 million in public funding currently earmarked for the stadium by paying for capital improvements to public schools.”

The Public Advocate’s proposal is based on evaluations and estimates cited in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity’s report titled Building Aid Reform, Adequate Facilities for All. It focuses on capital improvements to City schools because the $600 million earmarked for the Jets stadium comes from a funding stream designated only for capital improvements.

“By 2012, New York City either can have a hundred football games to show for its $600 million investment, or it can have smaller class sizes across the board, 125 new school libraries, and desperately needed upgrades and repairs in over 350 schools,” Gotbaum said.

“While some may argue that the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court ruling and the five year capital plan will satisfy New York City’s public school funding needs, there is reason to doubt that the State will provide the adequate level of funding in a timely manner. In the meantime, students in New York City continue to sit in overcrowded and deteriorating classrooms each day. Ultimately, the City must determine which is the more urgent priority for taxpayer dollars: the education of its children or a football stadium.”