Educators, parents, and politicians rallied outside City Hall, condemning Mayor Eric Adams’ sweeping education budget cuts as they blasted his perceived coziness with President Donald Trump amid federal education rollbacks.
About 50 demonstrators gathered on the steps of City Hall. Their voices echoed through lower Manhattan as they chatted in unison, “fund our schools!”
The rally centered on the demand to protect 3-K education, mental health services, and other essential education programs that are at risk under Adams’ latest budget proposal.
While Adams’ budget cuts and reallocations may not be extensive, they create uncertainty and vulnerabilities, particularly for young families, by not fully restoring $112 million in funding for 3-K, according to Chalk Beat.
While Adams, alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul who led the effort, replaced $92 million in expiring federal funds with city and state funds and allocated an additional $100 million for early childhood programs, these restorations still fall short of the $170 million previously cut from early education initiatives.
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The silver lining in Adams’ budget is the $514 million in recurring city and state funds allocated to key education programs, including mental health care, career readiness, and literacy initiatives for public school students, according to the official NYC government webpage.
However, his interactions with Trump administration figures have sparked political controversy, particularly his ties to former border czar Tom Homan.
While Adams has faced backlash for hosting Homan – It has been confirmed Adams held a meeting with Homan in mid-February and shared an interview with the border czar on Fox and Friends – and allowing ICE access to Rikers Island, there is no direct connection between these relationships and his education budget decisions.
Critics argue that these ties could weaken his standing with New York City’s progressive base, further complicating the debate over school funding.
With Trump’s push to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, New York City schools stand to lose $2 billion in federal funding, a devastating blow to programs serving low-income students and those with disabilities.
Public advocate Jumaane Williams called out both Adams and Trump, arguing that city leadership should be standing up to harmful policies rather than enabling them.
“Wish we had a mayor who would stand up to some of those cuts that would be helpful,” Williams told the Amsterdam News.
He pointed the blame directly to what he believes is driving harmful education policies. “Donald Trump, Elon Musk, all the folks who are pushing policies that are going to hurt, not just the money, but actually the ability to harm people both physically and financially.”
Williams also criticized Adams’ leadership, likening him to an extension of Trump rather than an independent city leader.
“Right now, we have a president in the White House, and we have a ‘deputy president’ in City Hall. I would just love for the ‘deputy president’ to just be the mayor of the city, and speak up against what he said.”
City Council member Gale Brewer of District 6, who previously served as the Manhattan Borough President, calls on the urgency of protecting education funding arguing that Adams’ budget fails to support the city’s most vulnerable students.
“The schools are underfunded. They need to have social workers. They need arts. They need wraparound services. They need afterschool programs, and teachers need to be paid more,” Brewer told Amsterdam News. “If none of those take place, we’re not gonna have a first quality educational system. So I’m here to say all the issues that are being raised today, absolutely needs the funding to go with them.”
Pointing to the struggles faced by students in shelters and from non-English-speaking households, Brewer said Adams has failed to prioritize their needs.
“There’s no question that students who are in shelters are often not going to school. Either the parents are afraid, or there’s not enough support for them. We need language support because many of the students in my district for instance speak different languages. They need assistance.” Brewer said.
Parent and student frustrations, particularly of those who are people of color or speak a language other than English, were amplified by Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education — a plan met with fierce legal opposition that same day.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, alongside 20 other state attorneys general, sued the administration to stop what they called an illegal effort to gut the department, warning that it would devastate funding for high-poverty schools and special education programs.
Amid these federal threats, New York City parents fear their public school needs are being sidelined by Adams, who they say isn’t doing enough to fight for critical education funding.
Standing before a podium, speakers took turns airing their grievances against what they called the Trump-Adams alliance.
With deportation crackdowns, aggressive policing, and tax breaks for the wealthy defining Adams’ tenure in the eyes of rally goers, many echoed the sentiment of City Council Member Lincoln Restler (D-33rd District), who warned that it’s only a matter of time before Adams is voted out.
“Mayor Adams has one move, and one move only — it is to cut our schools. It is disgraceful what he does, what he has done to early childhood education,” Restler said.
He added that the mayor’s time in office is limited if he continues on this path.
“This is Eric Adams’ last budget because we know he is not coming back. He has one more chance to do right by our families.”
As the city moves forward with budget negotiations, rally goers vowed to continue fighting until Adams reverses course and fully funds New York City’s schools.