Some NYC early childhood education programs say they can't afford salaries, supplies due to city funding delay
New York City's public schools are two weeks away from welcoming students back for the new school year, but some early childhood education programs say they can't afford supplies and snacks for the kids or salaries for their teachers.
Lori Cangiolose, owner and director of the Staten Island pre-school The Playgroup Experience, took to TikTok in a series of videos to explain that city funding that her program usually receives in August is running late.
She says she was told to apply for a bridge loan, but she can't get her hands on that money fast enough either. Her funding to start the school year will come from her own savings account.
"We don't want to hurt the children, but we don't know what to do. We can't pay staff," Cangiolose said.
The city funding is an annual advance in the year's budget, covering essentials, but you need a contract to get it.
The Mamdani administration's education department is in the process of re-doing the contracts for early childcare programs in an effort to improve the terms on their end and increase funding, but a delay has instead left pre-K and 3-K programs without contracts at all.
"We have made this very clear that this is a top priority internally," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, "and New York City public schools will be pursuing that."
"He's saying that, but we're not seeing it," Cangiolose said.
She said she doesn't feel like the administration is prioritizing the issue.
"We don't know if we're being phased out, if they're throwing us away," Cangiolose said.
Cangiolose forwarded CBS News New York education reporter Doug Williams emails that appear to show her back-and-forth with the DOE.
In one of them, the DOE tells her it takes "a few months" to get a contract and advises her to apply for a bridge loan.
Once Cangiolose's pre-school gets a contract, the Mamdani administration has said it will be for more money, but the DOE staffer told Cangiolose, "I am not sure when the increase will be coming."
When Cangiolose asked how much more money she will be getting, the DOE employee said, "I am not sure myself. They will let us know."
A spokesperson for the Department of Education says the new early childhood contracts are being prioritized in the system, and that going forward, "standardizing and expediting this process will be a priority - it's what our families and providers deserve, and what we will deliver."
