01.19.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s education department received a massive windfall: more than $7 billion in federal relief funding to help reopen school buildings and address lost instruction. 

But city officials have used a significant chunk of that one-time relief on initiatives that have recurring costs. What happens to those efforts when the spigot of federal dollars dries up in 2024? That’s the question posed by a report released Thursday by Advocates for Children, which highlights hundreds of millions worth of programs that are currently being supported by federal funds. 

The report is a “call to action” to draw attention to initiatives that could face cuts if the city doesn’t find a way to replace federal dollars, said Randi Levine, the policy director at Advocates for Children. “We want to make sure policymakers are aware of the wide range of important education initiatives that are currently being funded by expiring federal COVID-19 relief funding.” Li atik