New York Citys radical experiment with public safety is now reaching into the classroom, as socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves to slash hundreds of school safety positions even while violence in the citys schools is on the rise.
According to The Post Millennial, the mayors preliminary budget calls for the elimination of 264 school safety agent (SSA) positions, a plan that drew sharp scrutiny during a Fiscal Year 2027 hearing led by New York City Council Education Chair Eric Dinowitz. The DOE savings plan calls for a vacancy reduction of 264 school safety agents, meaning that schools would not be able to fully staff SSAs if desired, Dinowitz warned, underscoring that the cuts are driven by ideology and cost-saving, not by any demonstrated improvement in school safety.
Dinowitz later told the New York Post that the system is already stretched thin, noting, Currently, having just one School Safety Agent for every thousand students is not uncommon. Students are routinely late to class because of delays at scanners, and there are not enough SSAs who speak the languages of the students and families they serve. These agents, civilian members of the NYPD, are tasked with guarding school entrances, enforcing safety protocols, intercepting weapons and drugs, and responding when fights break outbasic functions parents reasonably expect from a serious school system.
The timing of the proposed cuts is particularly troubling given the data emerging from city schools. Felony assaults have climbed 5 percent in the first half of this year, and there have been nearly 20 weapons-related arrests involving individuals under 21, most tied to knife possession, suggesting a worsening environment for students and staff.
Yet while serious incidents rise, the city has chosen to reduce traditional discipline, with suspensions dropping 8.3 percent between July and December 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier. State officials credit this decline to restorative justice programs that prioritize conflict-resolution sessions between violent students, their victims, and teachers over firm consequences, a progressive approach critics say emboldens bad actors and undermines order.
Parents, unsurprisingly, are alarmed by a policy cocktail of fewer safety agents, softer discipline, and more violence. One Queens parent told the Post, This makes me feel very uneasy for my childs safety, if the number of safety agents are cut, who would their responsibilities fall upon? The admin? Staff? They already have their hands full, a question that city leaders pushing left-wing reforms have yet to answer in any way that reassures families who simply want safe, orderly schools.
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