Stuyvesant’s Budget Cuts: To No Surprise, the Humanities Classes Are the First to Go

Last month, I was on a bus headed to a debate tournament in Washington, D.C., when I found out that I had not been accepted into AP French. I was more confused than anything—it is widely known that AP French is not difficult to get into, with two-thirds of French III students being accepted. Considering the great number of students who do not want to take a fourth year of language classes, acceptance into AP French was practically guaranteed as long as the class was ranked in the selection form. In fact, there are usually two sections of AP French filled by three sections of French III—at least there were, until this year. 

I, as well as 30 other rising seniors, found out shortly after our rejection that this was a direct result of budget cuts in the New York City Department of Education (DOE). Last March, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a citywide budget cut in an attempt to close a multi-billion-dollar budget gap. Money spent on travel, supplies, and professional development would be reduced, estimated to save $27.5 million per school year. Mamdani’s administration revealed that they have more budget cuts planned for the next school year, including a possible spending cap. Regardless, the DOE is set to reduce spending by hundreds of millions of dollars over this school year and the following one. 

As a result of the new financial strain, Stuyvesant reduced the number of AP French sections without giving students any prior notice. Although forewarning is not a student’s right, the consequences of withholding it are a laundry list. 30 juniors lost a slot that could’ve been used to rank another AP for senior year. Senior year AP selections are notably the most extensive and important out of all four years of high school. Additionally, over half of the remaining section of AP French was filled with rising juniors, who were automatically given the class to fulfill their graduation requirements. Many of the juniors in French III had also hoped to ask Mr. Ramirez, the French III and AP French teacher, for recommendation letters. Given the policy that students must take four years of French to be considered for a recommendation letter, many of the juniors feel that they lost out on this opportunity as well.

While this may all sound like a list of personal complaints from one of the 30 students who lost the class, this issue speaks to a larger theme beyond AP French. When budget cuts hit Stuyvesant, why are the arts and humanities classes first to go?

Some may raise the argument that the school simply decided which classes to cut based on the number of students affected or by the quality of student performance. However, AP French is known to have one of the best student performances and the highest retention rates. The vast majority of students place nationally in the Grand Concours National French Contest, with some even placing first, as displayed by the several plaques decorating the AP French classroom. Even in the non-AP French classes, the French III class average for the World Languages exam is just over 98 percent, according to Mr. Ramirez. It doesn’t make sense to cut a class doing exceptionally well on standardized tests, on top of the fact that the majority of students are satisfied and choose to stay in the class for a fourth year. 

There is additional nuance behind the cut made to the AP French section. Currently, the French curriculum is split between just two teachers, Mr. Gunder and Mr. Ramirez. The former teaches two sections of French I and four sections of French II, while the latter teaches three sections of French III, two sections of AP French, and the European Cinema elective. This means that both teachers teach six classes, which is above the usual limit of five—teachers may be asked to teach more than five if the school feels there is reason to.

However, next year the number of French III classes will increase from three to four. This change was made as the result of greater interest in French from incoming freshmen during the 2024-2025 school year. This means that to fill the default of five classes, Ramirez is currently set to teach only one course of AP French alongside the four French III classes. While the school could decide to offer another period of AP French, programming Ramirez with six classes would require additional pay according to union policies—which due to budget constraints, it’s possible the school can’t afford. While this is understandable, it still doesn’t make sense that such a high-performing and popular language class would be cut down.

It is not just the French students who will experience the consequences of the budget cuts firsthand—it is also the musicians of Stuyvesant. One of the concert bands and the beginner band, as well as AP Music Theory, are on track to disappear this September, reducing the number of band classes to just three: symphonic band, jazz band, and one concert band. This reduction has a number of consequences. First and foremost, students who joined concert and beginner bands in place of a 10-Tech class are no longer able to fill the seven-semester requirement unless they are promoted to symphonic band. This is highly unlikely, given the large number of students in the two eliminated bands, as well as the high student retention rate for symphonic band, even with the graduating class taken into consideration. Students are losing an essential musical outlet alongside the opportunity to participate in annual concerts in front of their friends and family.

Since student performance and class size are ignored when cutting classes, students have reason to believe that the arts and humanities are simply seen as inferior by school administrators. While it is widely accepted that Stuyvesant is a STEM school, there seems to be no reasonable explanation as to why these humanities courses had to be terminated first. Students understand the unavoidability of budget cuts, and are not making unreasonable requests in response. However, cutting humanities classes first without any consideration for the students is incredibly irrational. Given that Mamdani’s budget cuts were intended to reduce the money spent on “travel, supplies, and professional development,” the decrease in academic classes seems unwarranted and confusing. 

It is critical that the Stuyvesant administration is transparent about its budget management, and the students demand a proper explanation. A simple email from the programming office, a quick update in the Weekly Newsletter, or even a verbal notice from Mr. Ramirez before AP selections could have significantly lessened the blow for students. But none of these were given, not to mention that Mr. Ramirez himself found out about these class cuts just a couple of days before the students did, which was long after selections were due. 

Regardless, the burden of the school’s finances should not fall upon the students and affect their access to academics, especially if they are excelling. Our school should take responsibility, make an effort to clarify our budget allocation, and acknowledge the consequences of the new budget cuts. With prior notice, these effects could have been easily avoided.