“When the new school year starts on Wednesday, we’ll open the doors of new school buildings that really stand out, both in quantity and quality,” Bloomberg said in his address on 1010 WINS.
In the next 10 years, Bloomberg noted that the city is will create more than 100,000 classroom seats between 2003 and 2013. “That’s roughly equivalent to the entire public school enrollment in the city of Baltimore,” he said.
Among the many classrooms that are slated to be opened, Bloomberg touted the newly-constructed Mott Haven campus in the Bronx, which will house 2,300 students. The campus is the largest school construction and renovation program in the city’s history. The project was completed under a $13.1 billion school capital plan, funded 50/50 by the city and state.
“It really symbolizes the revival of the South Bronx,” the mayor added.
The Metropolitan Avenue campus in Queens is also set to open on Wednesday, which will house 1,900 students.
The state received the Federal Race to the Top award for education last month, which generated some $300 million for city schools.
“That puts a seal of approval on how New York City has set the agenda, and set the pace, in turning schools around statewide,” Bloomberg said. “The next leg of the educational race to the top starts Wednesday: The first day of class in an exciting new school year.”
