Posted on 11/11/2025 1:26:09 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The number of students in K-12 grades is down nearly 87,000 since 2020.
Last week, New York City’s Department of Education announced the latest enrollment numbers for the city’s public schools. Another year of declines confirms an unsustainable trajectory—and highlights the challenge for newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani.
For the 2025–26 school year, NYCDOE reported 793,300 students enrolled in K-12 grades. That’s down 2.3 percent from the previous year and nearly 10 percent since 2020. DOE data also reveal that 112 of the city’s public schools have fewer than 150 students, up from 80 schools just two years ago.
Even as the number of students declines, New York’s nation-leading educational expenses continue to mount. Earlier this month, schools chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced that schools with falling matriculation can keep nearly $250 million in city funds that had been allocated based on earlier enrollment projections. The move, which she attributed to “enrollment fluctuations and uncertainty around federal funding,” is a continuation of the “held harmless” policy, which began during the pandemic and has led to a dramatic rise in per-pupil spending.
New York City’s public schools are on an unsustainable path. Each year, the budget expands and enrollment drops, resulting in higher per-pupil costs. The number of partially filled schools keeps growing, while the DOE fails to adjust budgets according to actual enrollment numbers.
Given these realities, Mayor-elect Mamdani should plan to reduce the number of public schools. Gotham has lost nearly 87,000 K-12 students over the last five years; prekindergarten enrollment is down 8 percent this year alone. Downsizing the school system would help the city invest money more effectively while providing appropriate education to the students who remain.
Two categories of schools would make...
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
Bring out the old bumper stickers:
I Suport Publik Skools.
Good, fewer kids to indoctrinate.
It’s no surprise enrollment is down in these indoctrination mills. Why even bother having them? Everybody already knows the education system is just another extension of the Democrat party. No life skills taught at all.
Mamdani will do whatever he can to keep bloated, woke, political government bureaucracies and their unions fully-staffed and fully-funded.
WHY DOES IT TAKE UNTIL EARLY NOVEMBER TO KNOW THE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS???
When you figure how much federal money goes with each student then you know why it is worrisome to him.
Follow the money.
Always.
Jamal Bowman is after his dream job. No students, no teachers. Just an administration to soak up millions of taxpayer dollars to hide in his pocket. Not to mention literally thousands of fire alarms to pull.
Last week, I heard some guy on a podcast who’s a professional facilitator / agent for getting kids into private schools. (I assumed kids from high income families.)
He said that a couple weeks before the election he was inundated with calls for his services. People anticipating a Mamdani win were scurrying.
The only solution is to hire more DEI instructors (er, teachers) and raise taxes again.
Similar numbers in Chicago. It would not be surprising to see similar numbers in all of the big cities. The teacher unions keep all of the schools open to provide more employment at "prevailing" wages.
OK.
But are the private schools numbers going up by the same number?
Are there less children in NYC?
Where are these children?
Plummeting enrollment is good. Less spending needed.
.
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