The School Leadership Team (SLT) proceeded with their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
As stipulated from the Comprehensive Education Plan, 60% of classes are required to have 25 students or less by 2025. Pace, out of its 28 recognized classrooms, has already managed to surpass the threshold with 70%.
By the 2027-28 school year, 100% of classes are expected to comply with the regulation. As a direct result, the number of students in Advanced Placement courses may be significantly reduced due to the concern that there wouldn’t be enough teachers to substantiate additional class periods.
Because of enrollment complications in 2023-24, Pace was $355,000 in debt to the city. And, over the course of the next three years, the school is expected to pay off the dues through a series of installments. This year, however, we are $366,000 in debt. The city grants funding per attending student: 32 students have, over the course of this term, have not reached the quota of attendance, accruing to the aforementioned debt.
After all, funding is pivotal for employing staff, maintaining school integrity, and facilitating extracurricular activities.
The city is re-evaluating the calculated debt in January. With luck, the school’s situation has the possibility to be allayed.
Similarly, lunch form completion, according to the committee, is indispensable. With every submission, it had the ability to consolidate Pace’s Title 1 status, allowing for additional funding.
Following the pandemic, high school fairs were no longer run or funded by the DOE, leading to a disparity in high school enrollment rates in New York City. Lesser known schools, such as Pace, tend to be impacted the most. Retrospectively, a majority of District 2 schools also endure a similar crisis.
There is some positivity through all of this, though. Ms. Barcia recently coordinated with DonorsChoose, a non-profit organization that is sponsored by individuals for a school of their choosing. The donations currently are used as attendance incentives, similarly to last year’s weekly attendance raffles.
Even with our school’s current circumstance, with great effort, the future of our school can be radiant, one plan at a time.
