As if Cardozo HS hasn’t had enough problems dealing with oversize classrooms, the Department of Education is now asking the school to rectify a $400,000 error. That’s the amount of money disbursed by mistake by DOE bookkeepers to the Bayside school. The DOE is requiring Cardozo to return the money in annual payments of $130,000.

Outraged faculty and staff rallied outside the school on Oct. 2 to protest the giveback. The repayment is placing AP classes, sports and support services at risk, said Chapter Leader Dino Sferrazza. He also pointed out that Cardozo, a successful comprehensive high school, gets nowhere near the per-pupil funding of Bronx Science, Stuyvesant or other elite high schools.

Mark Weprin, the local councilman, has called on the DOE to not demand repayment. “DOE made an error and now thousands of students are left in the lurch,” Weprin told the Bayside Patch. “By cutting funds to the school, DOE is unfairly punishing the students for its own mistakes.” Adding insult to injury, the DOE Office of Student Placement failed to enroll the expected number of students at Cardozo for the 2013–14 school year, costing the school an additional $160,000.