Metro

NYC schools could face 50 percent budget cut without federal aid: Cuomo

Empire State schools could be staring down a nearly 50-percent cut in funding unless the federal government helps prop up New York’s coronavirus-hobbled economy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

“If you don’t help the state government and local government, then how are we supposed to have the finances to re-open?” Cuomo rhetorically asked of the feds during a Long Island press briefing.

“If you starve state and local government, all that means is we have to turn around and reduce funding to the people who we are funding,” the governor continued.

“If we don’t get federal assistance, you’re looking at education cuts of close to 50-percent in the state of New York, where school districts would only get half of the aid they got from the state last year.”

The dire projection came hours after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio openly beseeched President Trump to open the federal coffers, ramping up an increasingly-common call from Hizzoner.

The Big Apple has already made $6 billion in cuts from its next proposed budget, and a report predicted last week that the city could lose out on nearly $10 billion in tax revenue alone by mid-2021.

Statewide cuts wouldn’t stop at schools, Cuomo warned Sunday.

“You’re talking about cut to hospitals from the state,” he said. “I mean, how ludicrous would it be for the state to now cut funding from state governments?”

The prospect, Cuomo said, has led a bipartisan group of governors to request of Beltway lawmakers a $500 billion aid package for state governments.

Without financial help, any efforts to re-ignite state economies may be over before they begin, Cuomo said.

“Everyone is saying, well, it’s up to the states to come up with a re-opening plan,” he said. “But the governors and the states have to have resources.”