Judge grants temporary restraining order against NYC public school budget cuts

A Manhattan judge on Friday has temporarily barred New York City from moving forward with school budget cuts amid plunging student enrollment.

The ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank, which temporarily keeps school funding at the levels outlined last year, was sought by a group of parents and teachers that are suing the city over the budget slashes.

The plaintiffs argue in their suit that the city flouted state law by passing a budget that included the hundreds of millions in cuts without prior approval from the Department of Education’s oversight board.

“We continue to believe that the cuts are causing irreparable harm to students and teachers,” said Laura Barbieri, the attorney from Advocates for Justice representing the petitioners, in a statement.

“We hope to win this case on the merits, as the cuts were enacted in a manner that clearly violates state law,” she said.

The city has through Monday to submit papers to vacate the order, while the plaintiffs’ attorney will respond in writing Tuesday, they said.

A hearing on the hot-button issue was scheduled for August 4.

City Hall on Friday continued to stand by its procedures in a statement to The Post.

“The budget was duly adopted by the City Council and is in accordance with all charter mandated protocols. We plan to file a motion to vacate on Monday,” said Amaris Cockfield, a spokesperson for the mayor.

The injunction comes as school administrators are making key hiring decisions before schools reopen in the fall.

“Parents are distraught about these cuts,” said Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters, an advocate against the cuts. “And we’re very encouraged that the judge in this particular case has seen both that irreparable harm would be done to students if the cuts go forward, and that we have a reasonable likelihood of success.”

In recent weeks, the majority of City Council members have joined calls to undo the hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts, which have forced school administrators to let go of teachers and cut programs.

A letter signed by 41 out of 51 members called on the mayor to “immediately restore” the funding — while a 42nd member, Robert Holden, sent his own memo asking the DOE to redirect overhead costs at central offices to fill the gap.

A City Hall insider told The Post that the mayor is trying to come up with a short-term solution or “one-time agreement” with the City Council to smooth things over.

“Adrienne Adams is presiding over a divided council, and it’s hurting her ability to get an agreement with the mayor,” said the source. “If she can’t get an agreement with her own members, how is she going to get an agreement with the mayor? This is embarrassing to the Council.”

Education law mandates that the Panel for Educational Policy — the citywide school board of mostly mayoral appointees — approve a yearly estimated education budget before the City Council vote. The council, however, voted to adopt the 2023 budget last month more than a week before the PEP signed off on the education funds.

The lawsuit asks the Manhattan Supreme Court to void the council’s budget vote so that the legislative body can reconsider based on the subsequent testimony of more than 70 teachers, parents and organizers.