Class Sizes Still Too Large in New York, Hevesi Finds

By ELISSA GOOTMAN
New York Times
March 17, 2006

New York City's classes in kindergarten through third grade have gotten smaller over the past six years, according to a state audit released yesterday. But the audit, by Alan G. Hevesi, the state comptroller, found that the classes are still larger than they should be under state policy, despite a decline in enrollment in those grades and an influx of nearly $500 million in state money earmarked for class size reduction.

The report found that the city's kindergarten through third grade classes had an average of 21.3 students during the 2004-05 school year, down from an average of 24.9 in 1998-99. While Mr. Hevesi commended the city for the change, he said it fell short of the state goal of having an average of 20 students per class in those grades; that goal was set forth in a 1997 law under which the city has received $88 million a year to reduce class sizes.

"At a time when lower enrollment in the lower grades should have made it easier to cut class size, it's very disappointing that the city did not achieve the goal," Mr. Hevesi said in a statement issued with the report.

Mr. Hevesi also found that while the state money was supposed to supplement, not substitute for, the city's own money for early class size reduction, the city was "reducing its own support for early-grade class size reduction and using it for other purposes."

The audit comes as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is locked in a bitter dispute with Albany over increased state financing for city schools, much of which would go toward new buildings.

In his report, Mr. Hevesi noted that one of the biggest obstacles to smaller classes was a lack of space in many schools.

In a statement yesterday, a city Department of Education spokeswoman, Kelly Devers, said: "To make further progress, we need capital from the state to build new classrooms and more state class-size reduction money. With these resources, we look forward to continuing our progress and are confident that we can reduce class size" to a ratio of 20 students per teacher in the early grades.