Bayside High School PTA Decries $3M Funding Shortfall

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Bayside High School's Parent Teacher Association is fighting for more public money after the school cut its career and technical programs for the upcoming year.

The high school nixed the popular programs in the face of a $3 million shortfall for the upcoming year, according to PTA President Paul Di Benedetto.

Bayside High School has faced funding shortfalls under that formula for the last decade, each year receiving 83 percent to 90 percent of the amount the NYC Department of Education promised.

"The DOE should be rewarding excellence, not penalizing it," Di Benedetto said in a statement.

The DOE uses a formula known as "Fair Student Funding" to pool and distribute city, state and federal school funding to each city school. It is the main source of money for most schools, according to the agency.

Most city schools face similar shortfalls, but Queens Community Board 11 members claim that Northeast Queens high schools are getting even less of the funding they're due than other similarly-sized schools.

The DOE blames the shortfalls on the state's failure to provide the adequate school funding required by a landmark court ruling. New York State contributes over a third of city school funds, and New York City provides 57 percent.

"We'll be able to fund all schools at 100 percent Fair Student Funding when the state pays the $1.2 billion it owes the city," DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson said in a statement.

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, the agency has raised Bayside High School's funding from 84 percent to 90 percent of the formula-determined amount, according to Filson.

City Council Member Paul Vallone and the Bayside PTA say that isn't enough.

"Despite its name, this program is clearly not fair to our students at Bayside High School and our high schools in Northeast Queens," Vallone said.