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These substantial funding reductions were undertaken without (1) any study of their likely impact on the ability of school districts to provide students the opportunity for a sound basic education, and (2) any guidance to school districts on how they might provide the opportunity for a sound basic education with substantially reduced funds

And what was Cuomo's response to the new suit? "We spend more than any other state in the country," he said. "It ain't about the money. It's about how you spend it—and the results."

the shift to blended learning. 

a fundamental redesign of instructional and organizational models, transforming the core elements of teaching and learning--changing roles, structures, schedules, staffing, and core budgets.

Starting the 2014-15 school year RCS principals will have direct control over an estimated 90% of their budgets--the most to date.

But the tentative flourishing of innovation is at risk of being overwhelmed by a massive funding shortfall that has cast doubt on the superintendent's ability to safely open schools in September, let alone spread promising new models across the 131,000-student system.

In late May, at the superintendent's urging, the governing School Reform Commission refused to endorse a budget that called for steep class-size hikes and a fresh round of cuts.

Even when the money is there, those observers say, a thicket of problems—labor strife, dysfunctional bureaucracies, crazy politics, leadership churn—prevents sustained investments in the instructional expertise of teachers and principals.

In 2011, the Center of American Progress released the first-ever attempt to evaluate the productivity of almost every major school district in the country.

We embarked on this second evaluation for a number of reasons. In many areas, education leaders continue to face difficult budget choices,

At the same time, the advent of the new, more rigorous Common Core standards