New York City is making $100 million in existing federal COVID-19 aid available to fund teacher positions in public schools.

The measure is meant to help stabilize budgets this fall, after schools facing steep enrollment declines collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars from their site-based allocations, officials said.

“The truth is that the city is facing a 120,000 drop in student enrollment, which had clear budget implications since February when the preliminary budget was released,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.

“After hearing from principals and other community leaders that they need additional time to adjust to the decline in enrollment, we are announcing greater flexibility in this year’s school budget,” he said.

The federal dollars, which had been allocated for “academic recovery” — including after school tutoring or extra help for kids with disabilities — can now also be used to hire teachers, according to a memo to principals on Tuesday night. 

Previously, the DOE had restrictions on using the temporary pot of money on staffing to prevent a fiscal cliff and the possibility that more teachers will need to be let go in a couple years when the funds expire. 

“Please note that schools should not expect that these resources will be available to support staffing in FY 2024, and should tailor staffing and programming appropriately to prepare for this funding to phase out,” wrote First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg.

The DOE has $4.4 billion in stimulus cash that it must spend by the 2024-25 school year, when the funds expire, Comptroller Brad Lander found earlier this week. The administration on Wednesday continued to say there are no additional funds that can be tapped.

“We have said from day one that enrollment in our public school system is a major concern that has a negative impact on our school systems’ funding,” said Schools Chancellor David Banks. 

Hundreds of staffers were still on city payroll last week without placements in schools. Using the newly freed up funds, principals will be able to hire some of those educators back into teaching positions, but those decisions may come at the expense of other school-level programs.

The measure comes the day before Banks, in his capacity as chancellor, and the DOE are due in state court after a group of parents and teachers filed a lawsuit to have the City Council revote on the budget and reverse the cuts.

“By changing their instructions on how already allocated dollars can be used, they’ve undermined their main claim in the lawsuit — that altering budgets at this point would cause too much confusion and chaos for principals in planning for next year,” said Leonie Haimson, an advocate for smaller class sizes who submitted an affidavit in the case.

Haimson and others who oppose the cuts are hoping for more school funding overall, rather than shuffling principals’ existing dollars.

The city is also starting to release funds to schools that appealed their budgets, according to the memo. Some principals may appeal the allocations if they believe the DOE’s enrollment projections are too low.

The set-aside for the appeals process includes up to $50 million, shared across the eligible schools. The first round of funding included $34 million on Wednesday, though the DOE did not share how many schools would benefit from the additional dollars. 

Officials said the appeals funding had previously been held because of the legal battle and short-term block on further budget cuts. At the time of City Hall’s announcement, the temporary restraining order had yet to be lifted. 

The dollar amount for the appeals is greater this year, recognizing the impact of the pandemic, officials added.

The City Council, which voted to approve the education budget, blasted the move Wednesday as continuing “to pull the wool over the public’s eyes” and an “inadequate and misleading step.”

“Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks need to stop this charade that harms our students, and restore the funds that they have taken away from schools — not by a fraction but in full,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan and Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph in a joint statement.

Apart from the appeals process, the less stringent requirements for using COVID aid does not introduce any additional dollars to a principal’s budget. 

“We are committed to providing every available resource to our students,” said Mayor Adams. “Still, we also must acknowledge the changing conditions that so many are unwilling to recognize.”