School budgets have not made for an easy time for Chancellor Joel I. Klein these days.
When he announced last week that dozens of city schools — including some of its best — would face spending cuts of more than 5 percent, Mr. Klein held lawmakers in Albany responsible. But at a City Council budget hearing today, as the chancellor continued to make the argument that the state was tying the city’s hands, council members reacted with the same skepticism as those in Albany have.
From Speaker Christine C. Quinn to Councilman G. Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, one after the other took turns at nearly scolding Mr. Klein, saying he needed to do more to fight Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on the spending cuts.
And there was plenty of confusion that quickly blossomed to outright anger from members, who did not seem to understand which of the many dollar figures being discussed was the exact amount that would be needed to restore all the cuts to individual schools.
Essentially, city officials say that if the state allows them to spend $63 million in state aid without any restrictions, roughly $99 million would be needed to prevent cuts from all schools in the city.
This, too, was an insufficient answer for Mr. Koppell. Claiming that in a budget of billions of dollars, that the city could not find another $63 million, he said. “I hate to say this, but I don’t believe you.” The councilman’s comment prompted a few loud cheers from the audience.
