The final city budget for the coming fiscal year will contain a 35 percent increase in Teacher’s Choice funding and a pilot program of universal free lunch in all middle schools, addressing two of the UFT’s lobbying priorities.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito shook hands on a final $75 billion city budget on the night of June 19, 11 days before the July 1 deadline. It was one of the earliest city budget deals in recent memory.

City officials hailed the agreement as an end to the usual “budget dance” of cuts and restorations between the mayor and the City Council, which typically prolonged negotiations.

Although exact allocations are still subject to change, funding for Teacher’s Choice will increase by roughly $1.7 million for a total of roughly $6.2 million. Teacher’s Choice began as a Council initiative in the 1980s to help cover out-of-pocket spending by teachers and other school staff on classroom supplies. The UFT welcomed the increase after funding was eliminated in 2011–12 and brought back at sharply reduced levels the following two years.

The mayor and the Council also agreed to launch a pilot program for universal free lunch in middle schools next year, with $6.3 million earmarked to cover 170,000 students. Free lunch for all students was a top Council priority, and the pilot will test the feasibility of making free lunch a systemwide benefit. The UFT and a variety of community groups had lobbied hard for it.

In other allocations, the Council said it would support 10,700 summer jobs for youth. Students who graduate from New York City public schools will be eligible for $11.1 million in merit scholarships at CUNY. The Council will also provide $825,000 to support athletic leagues in small schools.