NYC public schools lose 22,000 students as Mamdani prepares to phase out gifted programs

New York City public schools lost 22,000 students this year, a 2.4 percent drop compared with last year, according to preliminary data from the Department of Education. The New York Post reported that this is the steepest decline in four years and continues a post-Covid trend that has seen total enrollment fall 12.2 percent over the past five years.At the start of the 2019–2020 school year, NYC public schools had 1,002,200 students. Current figures show 844,400, a decrease of 117,800. K–12 schools lost 18,411 students, while pre-K programs lost 4,555. Only 3K programs for three-year-olds added 1,118 students, likely because more parents are returning to work.

Budget grows amid declining enrollment

Even as student numbers fall, the DOE budget has increased nearly $7 billion since 2019, reaching $40 billion this year. Danyela Souza Egorov, a parent and Manhattan Institute Fellow, told the New York Post, “Every year is the same story. New York City public schools keep losing students, their budget grows, per-pupil funding grows, and we get the same results.

It is a system that is failing.”

Parents seek more rigour

Many parents say lack of academic rigour is the main reason they move their children out of public schools. An April Department of Education survey found 41 percent of parents want a more intensive education. Two-thirds of fourth graders are not proficient in math, and even fewer are proficient in reading.Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has proposed phasing out gifted and talented programs in kindergarten. Critics, including Egorov, say this could push more families to private and charter schools. “We are in a vicious cycle. Schools are not strong, so families move, which leaves schools even weaker,” Egorov told the New York Post.

Charter schools gain enrollment

While traditional public schools lose students, enrollment in publicly funded but independently run charter schools rose to 150,000 last year, up 14 percent since 2019. Yiatin Chu, Co-President of Parents Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (P.L.A.C.E.), told the New York Post that parents are increasingly seeking merit-based education as city policies shift toward subjective measures.

Population decline and family migration

New York City lost 300,000 residents between April 2020 and July 2024, according to census data shared by the Post. Chu said education concerns are a key reason families are leaving, with some moving to Long Island to access better schools.

Egorov warned that continued enrollment declines could reduce the city’s tax base and limit funding for essential services.

Looking ahead

As the Mamdani administration prepares to implement changes, families continue to leave the public school system in search of better options. How city schools respond to these challenges will likely shape enrollment trends and public confidence in the years ahead.