Teachers at a struggling Queens high school blasted the city’s plan to slash enrollment at Long Island City High School.
Staff accused the Department of Education of attempting to starve the school of students — and about $3 million — in a bid to eventually close it down. School budgets are based on enrollment.
“We’re not going to be able to offer classes that we should be offering,” teacher union rep Ken Achiron told the Daily News on Friday. “There won’t be clubs, because there won’t be money to pay for them.”
The school is slated to lose almost 500 of its roughly 3,000 students next year, he said. That is expected to cost Long Island City $3 million and 30 faculty members.
The city Department of Education is looking into putting a new school in the Long Island City building in the 2014-2105 school year, Education officials said. But the agency does not plan to cut enrollment until 2014.
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“Since 2007-2008, we have seen a 34% decrease in ninth-grade enrollment and we’re expecting further drops next year,” Education spokesman Devon Puglia said in a statement. “Neighborhood parents have clamored for more new, smaller, high-performing school options.”
Teachers vowed to fight.
“This is another way to close the school,” said math teacher Peter Muhlback. “If we lose 30 teachers this year and 30 teachers next year, what kind of school is this going to be?”
The city had previously attempted to close the school, but it was blocked last year by a court order.
James Vasquez, the Queens high school rep for the United Federation of Teachers, said Long Island City HS has a new principal and is turning itself around.
“[The city] couldn’t close the school,” he said. “So instead they are depriving them of students and funding and co-locating schools to create havoc.”
