Audit Survey Found Many School Districts Were Unaware of Available Funds
The State Education Department (SED) is not fully utilizing state funding meant to help address New York’s teacher shortages, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New York is expected to need 180,000 new teachers in the next decade, with shortages already affecting school districts across the state. Large urban and rural districts report severe shortages in multiple high-need subject areas such as science, special education and career and technical education, which could lead to larger class sizes and challenges meeting students’ needs.
“The State Education Department needs to more effectively use the funds available to help address New York’s shortage of teachers and improve program outcomes,” DiNapoli said. “The Department must strengthen its oversight, communication and monitoring, and increase the use of the programs that support teacher recruitment, retention, certification and workforce diversity.”
Auditors found SED did not award about $36 million in funding for four major grant programs meant to address the state’s teacher shortage from July 2019 through August 2025. Of the $191 million allocated, only $155 million was awarded to grantees, and just about $118.9 million (62%) was actually spent.
One major factor behind the underspending appears to be a lack of awareness among school districts. Only a small percentage of eligible districts applied for available grants. For example, in the 2022-26 Teachers of Tomorrow grant cycle, only 27 of 609 eligible school districts (4%) submitted applications, even though the program is aimed at helping districts find teachers for hard-to-fill subject areas.
Auditors surveyed 692 school districts, excluding New York City, and 86% of the 244 respondents said they had not participated in the grant programs reviewed. Among the 210 non-participating districts, 190 (90%) said they were unaware of the grant programs, and 164 said they wanted more information. The audit also found many rural districts struggling with teacher recruitment cited lower salaries and limited housing, but most were unaware of the grant opportunities that could support their recruitment efforts.
DiNapoli’s audit also found that SED needed stronger oversight to ensure its grant programs are achieving their intended results. Without meaningful assessment of performance metrics, policymakers cannot determine whether grant funding is improving teacher recruitment, retention and certification or whether changes are needed to improve programs.
DiNapoli’s audit recommended that SED:
- Strengthen monitoring of teacher-shortage grants, including better tracking of grant spending and school district participation.
- Improve communication with school districts to raise awareness of grant opportunities.
- Share grant outcomes with decision-makers and recommend changes to improve the effective use of funding.
- Develop and implement performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of the grant programs.
SED generally disagreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations, stating that it did not fully account for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages, statutory limitations and procurement rules on grant administration. The department maintained it monitored the grant programs through annual and interim reports, compliance reviews and performance tracking, while agreeing to strengthen performance metrics, expand workforce dashboards, increase outreach and formalize monitoring procedures. The agency’s full response is available in the audit.
Audit
State Education Department: Oversight of Teacher Shortages