Thousands of city school teachers will not be hanging in the balance this summer thanks to a balanced city budget that guarantees them positions in the fall.
The $66 billion spending plan, set to be approved by the City Council today, averted what Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the "devastating consequences" of massive teacher layoffs.
"It would not just have been fewer people to provide a service, it would've gotten rid of the best and brightest that we've been able to attract," Bloomberg said.
More than 4,000 teaching positions were spared after the city reached a deal with the teacher's union late last week. But schools could still feel pain. The city has no plans to replace about 2,600 teachers expected to retire or resign this year, which could lead to larger class sizes.
Given the financial restrains, the city had to let attrition downsize in order to save the teachers who wanted to keep their jobs, Bloomberg said.
"We teach the kids as much as we can. I'm just thankful that we could keep those who wanna work working," the mayor added.
Twenty fire companies that were on the chopping block, including the lone fire house on City Island, also were saved in the balanced budget.
Still, other city agencies are preparing for the worst.
Under the budget agreement, more than 1,000 workers at five city agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Health and Hospitals Corporation, could be let go.
And there may be more layoffs next fiscal year. Bloomberg warned the $6 billion in rainy day funding the city used to help balance the budget may not be sufficient to cushion against more cuts in the future.
Despite its struggles, Bloomberg said New York City continues to perform better economically than other major metropolises.
"If you take a look at the economy around this country, it is not good, and New York is doing better than most of the other places," he said. "But we're certainly not showing any signs of the '07 levels we had."
