By Sen. James L. Seward
As work on the state budget picks up steam, a great deal of attention will focus on the education portion of the spending plan.
This is a key area for a number of reasons.
The state support provided to schools helps districts educate our young people and prepare them for their next educational step or career opportunity.
Funds that flow from the state also have a major impact on local property taxes.
One issue that has left many schools struggling in recent years is known as the Gap Elimi-nation Adjustment (GEA).
I have talked about this issue in the past, and want to make sure everyone understands just how damaging it has been.
The GEA was enacted in 2009-10 to partially reduce the state’s $10 billion budget deficit.
In 2011-12 it cut $2.56 billion state-wide in school aid.
Over the past three years the GEA has been used to reduce state aid to school districts by $6.35 billion.
I voted against the GEA when it passed in 2009 and have been working to erase this curse on our local schools ever since.
This hurtful policy was simply a cash-grab by the state that has left schools reeling and trying to recover ever since it was enacted.
Due to the GEA, school administrators, especially in low wealth-high need districts, have been forced to cut educational programs to make ends meet.
This means students may not graduate on time, or get into the college they want, or be prepared to start a career after high school.
The GEA has also forced a greater dependence on local taxes that are already higher than most homeowners and small businesses can afford.
Ever since the GEA was enacted I have been working to put this sorry scam out to rest.
In both 2013 and 2014, I joined my senate colleagues in offering definitive plans to end the GEA as part of the state budget.
Unfortunately, the state assembly failed to join us and we were forced to settle for partial payments only.
In 2013 the senate also passed legislation I cosponsored (senate bill 5452-C) which would have eliminated the GEA.
Current law carries this defective policy forward indefinitely, and this legislation would have provided a definitive timetable for its termination.
Once again, no support came from the state assembly.
I am continuing to advocate for the termination of the GEA and have introduced new legislation (senate bill 2643) to fully eliminate the GEA for 2014-15 and moving forward.
My bill would also provide school districts with the full amount of aid generated by all existing budget funding formulas.
I have consistently fought to restore aid taken under the guise of the GEA. During last year’s budget debate, the senate passed a resolution calling for a $686 million GEA restoration.
The final negotiated budget included $602 million—the single largest reduction in the GEA since it was implemented.
While the figure came up well short of what was needed, things could have been far worse.
The governor only proposed a $323 million restoration and the state assembly offered to add just $43 million to that minor raise.
Schools in my senate district have received $8.5 million more in education funding this year than proposed by the governor.
For the schools I represent, many which are classified as low-wealth, high-needs, this extra funding is a true windfall.
Even with the funding, many schools are still struggling to offer core education programs.
Education issues are always front and center in Albany, and this year is no different.
As I work to make certain our upstate, rural districts receive their fair share of funding; I am also fighting to end the GEA.
Doing so would be one of the most meaningful steps we can take to relieve some of the financial burden schools and property taxpayers alike shoulder in New York State.