Michael R. Bloomberg
PER
Michael R. Bloomberg Bloomberg
The budget accord that lawmakers reached here on Tuesday night will let Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg move forward with what city officials are calling the most ambitious school construction program in the city's history. The budget agreement, which Gov. George E. Pataki has yet to accept, would authorize $11.2 billion in borrowing to further Mr. Bloomberg's plans to build or lease 76 new school buildings, upgrade science labs and make other improvements to existing schools, and embark on a stepped-up program of repairs and maintenance for the city's aging public schools. The mayor made the tactical decision this year to push for the construction money, reasoning that the city was unlikely to get the $4.7 billion to $5.63 billion in extra school operating aid that the courts have said the city is owed.