Beth Fertig spots Bloomberg's hand reaching into classrooms:
[T]he city sent a memo to principals on Wednesday telling them they’d have to give back half of whatever extra money they were planning to roll over into the next school year. Principals often stockpile unused funds to cushion against budget cuts in the year ahead. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Barbara Morgan, said allowing principals to rollover all of their funds for the year ahead is no longer “a prudent option” because of the current budget climate.
Randi Herman, first vice president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, which represents city principals, the city has never before asked them to give back half of their rollover funds.
“Membership is already expressing outrage at what we're calling a budgetary manipulation because it's in direct conflict with what [the Department of Education] expressed, which is to keep the budget cuts from the children in the classrooms,” she said.
Herman says principals will probably buy as many supplies as possible now so they don't have to give back half of their extra funds later.