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District 28 committee presses for school space as class‑size law takes effect
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Summary
Parents, CEC members and district staff in New York City Geographic District #28 discussed school overcrowding, steps to identify building space and the funding needed to comply with the class‑size law; the School Construction Authority did not attend.
The Class Size Law Committee of New York City Geographic District #28 met June 23 to discuss how the district plans to meet state class‑size mandates amid widespread overcrowding and a projected wave of new housing in the Jamaica area.
Committee co‑chair Simone opened the meeting by thanking participants and noting the group’s progress this year: “we've come a long way,” she said, welcoming updates from district staff and community partners. The meeting centered on two linked problems: limited physical classroom space and the funding and approvals needed to build or repurpose space.
Why it matters: the committee said District 28 faces immediate capacity constraints that make implementing the class‑size law difficult without new seats. Participants pointed to ongoing talks with the Queens borough president’s (QBP) office and early site assessments with the goal of identifying locations where schools, annexes or classroom space could be added.
District staff reported incremental steps but no finalized plans. Raj and Vic (district representatives) described ongoing conversations with the Queensborough president’s office and early site reviews. Vic said the borough president’s office has been “a strong partner” and is looking at potential sites; staff have scheduled two site walks in the coming week to assess capacity. Committee members identified several schools and sites under review, including references during the meeting to sites numbered 217 and 303 and to existing schools with high utilization (for example, schools referred to as 101, 120, 171/175 and 220 on the North Side and 82 and 182 on the South Side).
Committee members and parents emphasized the need to secure funding before the School Construction Authority (SCA) will fully engage in design or construction work. Adrianna, who said she chairs a utilization committee for the borough Parent Education Panel (PEP), recalled a local project at Aviation where progress stalled for years until the borough president guaranteed money. “SCA is not going to move until there is money in hand,” she said. “Once there is money that is guaranteed... that was enough to get SCA moving and really get the ball rolling.”
Bruce, representing the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), said that schools that obtained class‑size reduction funding have been hiring: “our schools are currently in the hiring process of teachers... the schools are actively interviewing for those positions now.” That hiring is separate from the district’s longer‑term effort to find physical seats for additional students.
Committee members discussed next steps that are administrative and political rather than legislative. They plan to ask the SCA to attend a future meeting (targeted for August), continue coordinated site visits with the borough president’s office, press elected officials for funding commitments and step up parent outreach. Several speakers urged more parent engagement through school leadership teams (SLTs), PTAs and CEC meetings, including collecting petitions to show demand to funders and policymakers.
Participants also discussed enrollment policy as a tool to manage flows across the district’s geographically split North and South sides. Raj said he has urged central DOE to consider a District‑28 enrollment protocol to reduce the need to move students long distances to balance seats.
The committee reiterated statutory class‑size ratios discussed in the meeting: pre‑K 18 to 1, kindergarten through third grade 20 to 1, grades 4‑8 23 to 1, and high school 25 to 1. Members noted that some classrooms will have two teachers when a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) requires integrated co‑teaching (ICT).
No formal vote or motion was recorded at the June 23 meeting. Multiple speakers asked staff to continue outreach and to return with SCA and more concrete site and funding information in the coming months. The committee set a near‑term calendar item: the next CEC meeting is July 3, and members said they expect the class‑size committee to meet again over the summer and to continue its work into the next school year.
The meeting closed with thanks to parents, the borough‑level partners and union representatives and a note that the committee intends to maintain momentum despite upcoming changes in CEC membership.
