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#Department of Education defunds key program at top city high school

#Department of Education defunds key program at top city high school

The Department of Education is defunding a program at a top city high school that allows students to earn credits at Queens College during their senior year, The Post has learned`.

Citing budget pressures, the DOE cut money for the College Bridge program at Townsend Harris High School in Queens, a pillar of its citywide appeal since its 1984 inception.

In a letter to parents, principal Brian Condon lashed the DOE for the move and said it was using COVID-19 as a pretext to damage the coveted screened school.

“It is an exploitation of the pandemic to do what could not be done in the light of day over the past four years, despite the best efforts of a few thoughtless bureaucrats and politically-motivated actors who have been set on decimating the program that has consistently led Townsend Harris to being recognized as one of the best schools in our borough, our city, our state, and our nation,” Condon wrote.

The DOE pushed back on Condon, arguing that no other school receives similar funding and that there is a separate citywide College Bridge program that will remain intact.

The department argued that Condon can still make other budgetary cuts at his school to preserve the program.

“This special allocation was unique to Townsend Harris, and, in the interest of equity, we sought to work with school leadership to find alternative means to continue funding this program within their budget if they choose to,” said DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer.

During their senior year, students take two classes at Queens College each semester and earn a total of 12 credits before setting foot on a university campus.

“This program is one of the facets that makes Townsend Harris special,” said Craig Slutzkin, Co-President of the Townsend Harris Alumni Association. “Students are promised this from the day they come into school. They count on it for intellectual rigor, for college prep and for financial reasons.”

Slutzkin noted that Townsend Harris has a high population of low-income immigrant kids for whom the financial benefits of the program are essential.

The school enrolls roughly 1,200 students and is 56 percent Asian, 19 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent African-American.

According to the DOE, 47 percent qualify for free lunch, a common marker of poverty.

“A lot of these kids are the first ones in their family to go to college,” Slutzkin said. “In this era of people losing jobs and the economy in a shambles you’re taking away a benefit from underprivileged students. The DOE is violating the promise they made to these kids. It’s unfathomable.”

Townsend Harris admits students based on grades, test scores and attendance, although those latter two measures were negated this year because of the coronavirus.

Sources said Condon met with DOE officials late Wednesday who made the cut official.

“There are few such programs that so effectively offer both educational and financial benefits simultaneously,” Condon wrote in his letter earlier this week in anticipating the move. “It is an exemplary and efficient use of public funds, and we could line up numerous alumni who will share how much it helped them not only be ready for college but to save money at the same time.”

Schools with competitive admissions have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years from both DOE officials, activist groups and parents.

Those voices argue that they favor families with the resources to prepare their children for admission and that their populations are not demographically representative of the city as a whole.

Roughly 70 percent of the nation’s largest school system in black and Hispanic.

Backers of screened schools counter that city kids should have the opportunity to learn at an advanced and accelerated pace.

They also note that most top DOE officials either sent or send their own children to schools with competitive admissions.

“We need all members of our community to lift up their voices and make it known that defunding this long standing partnership is not acceptable and will not be tolerated,” Condon said in his letter.

The DOE stressed unprecedented budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus in defending the cut.

“In the face of the severe budget crisis caused by the COVD-19 pandemic, we made the hard decision to prioritize core academics, resulting in hundreds of millions in budget cuts in the Adopted budget alone,” Styer said.

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