PEP rep and UFT urge action on busing, class size and school facilities

Representatives at the CEC 28 meeting pressed for systemwide fixes to long-standing transportation, class size and facilities problems.

Adrianna, the district’s representative on the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), framed parents’ top concerns as “A for AI, B for busing and C for class size” and summarized recent PEP work. She said the PEP passed a utilization resolution urging City Council to identify city-, state- and federally owned spaces that meet the School Construction Authority’s educational-space criteria so that those spaces can be repurposed to relieve overcrowding.

Adrianna also said PEP members are preparing a pool-inventory resolution intended to identify buildings that already have pools so the city can explore renovation and community use. “If the building has a pool in it, we can… have the pool be renovated and used for the community,” she said.

Bruce, a UFT representative, told the council that principals had received a survey about class-size reduction and that the survey/applications to apply for additional class-size funding for the 2026–27 school year are due Dec. 3. “The applications are due or the surveys, rather, are due by, December 3,” he said, and urged principals and parent leaders to complete them promptly.

A visiting CEC 26 president raised a separate but related concern: he described a state agency measurement error that reduced the effective buffer around schools from what some expected and said legislators are seeking to change rules that could leave cannabis dispensaries closer to school properties. Council members expressed wariness about any law that would reduce protections around schools; one member said a 500-foot buffer feels “like literally around the corner.”

Council members and PEP representatives also described busing as a continuing problem citywide. Adrianna said the PEP is considering shorter contract lengths for bus providers to allow faster corrective action if a contractor’s service falls short. Members asked parents with experiences to attend the PEP meeting on Nov. 19 to provide testimony; Adrianna said written testimony could also be submitted to create a record.

The council did not vote on a new resolution at this meeting, but CEC members urged follow-up with central office staff and the PEP to track implementation, ensure principals can access class-size funding, and to press the city for clearer timelines on capital projects and pool renovations.