reduced without expanding classroom space. Defendants propose that school days can be extended in order to accommodate more classes. As noted above, this "solution" has not worked in the schools where it has been tried. Another solution proposed by defendants is to place two teachers in overcrowded classrooms. The evidence at trial was equivocal as to whether this staffing model has any effect on student outcomes. That said, defendants' evidence concerning BOE's inefficient deployment of teachers and other personnel has some validity. It is no secret that some personnel in the public school system are not working as hard or as efficiently as they could. Both the City Comptroller and the Citizens Budget Commission conducted analyses in the last five years arguing that BOE can and should insist on productivity gains from the City's public school teachers. While space constraints might make it difficult to utilize underused teaching staff to reduce class size, there are certainly other arguments for productivity gains. More efficient use of teachers' time could in theory reduce the number of teachers needed to cover all classes. Additionally, while in theory teachers' [187 [187 Misc.2d Misc.2d 56] 56] aides could assist student productivity, there was evidence that frequently these jobs are sources of patronage filled by individuals who add little to education. Personnel costs are BOE's single largest budget item and savings in this area could be used to address the system's chronic needs in other areas. On the other hand, legitimate questions about the magnitude of this inefficient deployment are raised by the evidence. Neither the Comptroller's nor the Citizens Budget Commission's analyses offered by defendants account for the greater amount of time that New York City school teachers must spend grading work and completing administrative tasks because of larger class sizes. Additionally, as discussed at length below, there are a variety of factors that have increased student placements into special education, especially into its most restrictive (and heavily staffed) settings. This phenomenon is caused in part by factors outside BOE's control. Smaller class sizes are mandated in special education classes, creating a lower teacherstudent ratio. Excluding special education teachers, the general education teacher student ratio in 1997-1998 was 1 to 18.04; in 1998-1999 it was 1 to 17.03. Finally, New York City has had a difficult time competing with neighboring school districts for qualified teachers with the currently configured New York City public school workday. In the next few years, as the rate of retirements among City public school teachers is likely to increase, the competition for qualified teachers is likely to go up as well. If defendants are correct that the City's public school teachers have a shorter workday, that fact plausibly may be a competitive advantage that BOE may use to attract teachers. Conversely, a longer workday could plausibly hurt the City's competitiveness. H. Instrumentalities of Learning The third "input" set forth by the Court of Appeals 1995 decision is "minimally adequate instrumentalities of learning such as desks, chairs, pencils, and reasonably current textbooks." (Campaign for Fiscal Equity v State of New York, 86 N.Y.2d 307, 317, supra.) Given the Court of Appeals' insertion of "such as" this court interprets this list to be nonexhaustive. The evidence demonstrates that for nearly two decades BOE has struggled to provide adequate instrumentalities of learning to its students. 1 . Tex t b o o k s BOE has not maintained systematic records of the textbooks used by its students from year to year. However, there was [187 [187 Misc.2d Misc.2d 57] 57] probative evidence that at least since the early 1980's New York City has endured a chronic shortage of adequate textbooks. In recent years, primarily because of an influx of funds from the New York City Council, BOE has been able to significantly upgrade City public school textbooks. Beginning in 1996-1997, the City Council allocated $50 million over four years. Community school districts actually were unable to spend all of their textbook funds in the ensuing three school years. At the present time the quantity and quality of textbooks used by students in the City's schools satisfy minimal adequacy. However, education is cumulative, each year building upon the last. While the present textbook allocation is adequate, it cannot remedy the negative effects of past shortages. Moreover, there is no structural funding mechanism that gives any assurance that the recent spike in textbook funding will continue. The primary source of State funding for textbooks is the New York State Textbook Law (NYSTL). In the 1995-1996 school year the NYSTL allocation was $35 per student, an amount that the New York City Comptroller found in a 1996 report to be inadequate. Two years later, in 1997-1998, the allocation was increased by $1 per student to $36. The allocation crept up to $41 per student in 1999-2000. The NYSTL must cover the costs of numerous types of instructional materials, not just hardcover textbooks. While the evidence at trial demonstrated that hardcover textbooks must be replaced every three to four years, other materials known as "consumables" are used up in a year. The NYSTL allocation is inadequate to cover the cost of all these materials. 2 . L i b ra r y B o o k s The books in New York City public school libraries are inadequate in number and quality. New York City has historically lagged behind the rest of the State in the number of library books per student. The State's allocation for library materials—which includes books, software, periodicals and videotapes—has been $4 per pupil since 1994, despite SED's requests for higher funding. This allocation is insufficient to assure adequate libraries in the City's public schools. 3. Classroom Supplies and Equipment Plaintiffs presented substantial evidence that New York City public schools have in the last two decades suffered from inadequate [187 [187 Misc.2d Misc.2d 58] 58]