How much would it cost to add a social worker to each NYC public school?
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  As New York City works to add more social workers to public schools, a new report found that it will come at a hefty cost. At the request of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) released a report that detailed how much it would cost to add a social worker to support students in those 423 public schools in New York City that currently dont have one. The IBO reported that Staten Islands District 31 would need 18 more social workers. With average salary and fringe benefits for social workers at $145,569, this means adding 18 social workers in Staten Island schools would cost about $3 million. It would cost an additional $1 million to bring full-time coverage to five Staten Island schools that currently have part-time workers. That brings the total to $4 million to ensure every school on the borough has a full-time social worker, the IBO report shows. According to the report, Staten Island already has at least one social worker in all of its District 75 schools, which is a citywide district that provides highly specialized instructional support for students with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. COST OF SOCIAL WORKERS CITYWIDE  According to the IBO, about 423 out of 1,525 public schools, or about 28%, in Districts 1-32 do not currently have social workers. Thats compared to 44% in May 2019. It would cost $62 million to add full-time social workers to each school that doesnt currently have one. It would cost $4 million to add social workers to 25 schools in District 75, and $19 million to bring full-time social worker coverage to 166 schools that currently have part-time social workers. In April, city officials announced 500 new school-based social workers would be hired, including the 150 social workers announced in December. IBO said in its report that even with these 500 social workers, the school system would still need to hire 75 full-time social workers to bring at least one full-time social worker to every public school. The city Department of Education (DOE) said this gap of 75 staff positions likely exists because IBO didnt account for sites that already have a school-based mental health clinic. The agency added that the IBOs analysis is based on a report on staffing released in February  which the DOE says is a single snapshot in time as staffing levels are dynamic. Although we appreciate the IBOs advocacy on this critical issue, this analysis is inaccurate, said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the DOE. When combined with school-based mental health clinics, the over 500 social workers we are hiring this fall will ensure that every single school has a full-time mental health professional on staff. This is an historic investment and we are proud to ensure every school has critical mental health supports for students this fall.  School Zone: A new newsletter with the updates you need as our schools try to get back to normal. Enter your email address here and hit "subscribe" to receive this weekly newsletter:    FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.