New York is spending more on education than any state in the nation despite shrinking schools and 12% fewer students than 15 years ago, an eye-opening new report found.
Empire State enrollment could see another double-digit decrease by 2031 as population growth stagnates and birth rates plummet — which would mean New York is shedding students faster than anywhere in the US except California and New Mexico, according to the report by budget watchdog the Citizens Budget Commission.
The reckoning will force policymakers to consider controversial decisions: closing or merging schools and reducing staff or continuing to prop up facilities with a dearth of students, the report said.
“Public school enrollment has declined in every region over the past decade, reflecting broader demographic trends and slower population growth,” the CBC said in its “Value Proposition Tracker” analysis.
“Enrollment declines have been particularly pronounced outside the New York City metropolitan area, creating new challenges for school districts as they balance staffing, facilities, and educational programming with fewer students.”
Overall, statewide public school enrollment declined by 322,808 students to 2.38 million, the CBC analysis found.
New York City had the smallest decline in the state at 7.1%, thanks to the increase in students at charter schools.
There are 930,272 students in the city public school system, a drop of 188,864 students from a decade ago, when it had more than 1.1 million students, according to the report.
But the city also has 109,463 more students in charter schools, which helped limit the rate of decline compared to school districts in the rest of the state.
Still, under-enrolled city public schools remain an issue.
More than 800 schools out of the roughly 1,800 in the system have fewer than 400 students, while 241 had fewer than 200 students enrolled, the report found.
The politicians have contributed to the problem by holding such schools “harmless” — maintaining their level of funding despite the districts having fewer students, critics said.
“Failing schools rob children of their futures,” said a recent report put out by the Success Academy charter school network. “Under-enrolled schools drain the budget for no return.
In other parts of the state, enrollment was in free fall:
- Down 20% in the Southern Tier
- Down 19.6% in the Mohawk Valley
- Down 17.1% in the Finger Lakes
- Down 17% in Central New York
- Down 15.4% in the North Country.
- Down 13.7% in Western New York
- Down 13.1% in the Capital Region
- Down 13% in the Hudson Valley
- Down 11.8% on Long Island (Nassau, Suffolk)
Despite the cratering enrollment, New York spends more per student than all other states with mediocre results.
The state spent nearly $32,000 per student in 2024, 81% more than the national average. It fished out 17% more than neighboring New Jersey, 21% more than Connecticut; 30% more than Massachusetts and 11% more than second-biggest spender Vermont.
“Despite spending more per student than other states, New York’s reading performance is near the national average, and its math performance is below,” the CBC analysis said. “Students in New Jersey and Massachusetts perform much better, despite those states spending 17 percent and 23 percent less per student, respectively.”
New York ranked 22nd in fourth grade reading and 24th in eighth grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam, considered the gold standard for testing.
Students in New York ranked 38th in fourth grade math and 27th in eighth grade math.
Massachusetts students ranked first in all categories on NAEP exams.
State law currently allows school districts to merge with each other with the approval of residents, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office noted.
The state also provides resources to assist with operating and building aid to school districts that have recently merged.
But Hochul, a Democrat seeking re-election to a second full four-year term this fall, treaded lightly on confronting smaller public school systems.
“Governor Hochul continues to make record investments in our schools because she believes every child in New York deserves access to a quality education, setting them up for lifelong success,” a Hochul spokesperson said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with school districts around the state to ensure they have the resources they need, while maintaining the Governor’s strong track record of fiscal discipline during her time in office.”
A representative for New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said “enrollment trends will be a focus” when asked about shrinking Big Apple schools.
“Our priority is ensuring that every student, regardless of the size of their school, has access to a high-quality education in a learning environment where they can thrive,” said city Department of Education spokesperson Chyann Tull.
“When schools are robustly enrolled, they are able to provide more rigorous academic opportunities to every classroom, more enriching extracurriculars to every student and a more wraparound supports to every child,” Tull said. “As New York City Public Schools charts a path forward for our school system, responding to national enrollment trends will be a focus.”
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