Manhattan Schools Left Out of Federal Funds Hike

All boroughs except Manhattan will get a boost in federal education dollars next school year, city schools learned yesterday. Staten Island got the biggest increase from last year, over 6%. The Bronx was next with a nearly 4% increase. Manhattan's drop was less than 1%.

The aid comes from the biggest source of U.S. Department of Education funds, known as Title 1, which targets money to schools with low-income students. Census figures from 2004 determined the awards.

The federal department's local liaison, Valarie Strauss, called the overall increase — to more than $834 million from about $824 million — a boon. "When you're looking at dollars this big," she said, "it does mean something."