The city and its Department of Education (DOE) have appealed an Aug. 5 court ruling that invalidated the City Council’s vote on the education portion of the 2022-23 budget, while the Council considers legal options to restore the funding cuts.

Hundreds of protesters demanded that the city Department of Education restore more than $215 million in school budget cuts at a rally on June 24 outside City Hall, where the City Council was holding an emergency hearing to probe the reductions in the recently adopted city budget.

As Gov. Kathy Hochul considers signing state legislation to reduce class sizes in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams is threatening cuts to next year’s school budgets even as he sits on billions of dollars of federal education aid.

Capping a yearlong push by educators and parents to lower class sizes, state lawmakers passed a bill on June 2 to cap the number of students per classroom in New York City public schools at 20 to 25, depending on the grade, by 2027.

Michael Mulgrew gained his fifth term as UFT president with 66% of the vote. He carried with him most of his slate, with the exception of high school executive board positions.

Rashid Ali Mathus, known to UFT members and delegates for his work moderating the union’s Town Hall and Delegate Assembly meetings, died on May 7, 2022, at age 40.