The Liverpool Central School District Board of Education is once again asking New York state to eliminate a damaging funding stream that has hurt its finances.
At its Dec. 15 meeting, the BOE discussed a resolution asking the state legislature to eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), which was instituted by the Paterson administration in the 2009-10 school year to help the state fill its revenue shortfall. Essentially, the state allocates a certain amount of aid to schools each year, then takes away a portion of that aid through the GEA. If the amount of state aid allocated to schools exceeds the projected growth in the state’s personal income, regardless of the need projected by schools, the GEA is increased to contain overall growth within legislated limits. If state aid increases are less than that limit or of legislators choose to exceed the state aid cap, the GEA can be decreased. However, the GEA generally remains at the same levels year to year. It’s rarely decreased, meaning schools are losing more and more money every year — money that was promised to them by the state.
“In 2010, the GEA was supposed to be a one-time reduction in state aid funds to school districts, originally implemented to help the state balance its budget,” said BOE President Patricia DeBona-Rosier. “Since that time LCSD has lost more than $43 million in state aid, a burden that has, unfortunately, been passed on to our Liverpool taxpayers.”
The proposed resolution points out that the cuts came at the same time as a number of unfunded state mandates, such as teacher and principal review requirements, Common Core learning standards and required increases in state pension costs. It notes that, while New York state leaders “[tout] recent aid increases as generous support to schools, although overall, school districts are receiving very little additional aid when compared to 2008-09.” In fact, some districts have seen a decrease in aid. In addition, according to the proposed resolution, “a comparative study of our nation’s 50 state funding systems ranks New York state second nationally, with a letter grade of A for funding adequacy, but condemns our flawed and inequitable approach to allocation of school aid with a letter grade of F, and a bottom-tier national ranking of 42nd in funding distribution.” Therefore, the resolution, which will be sent to the governor and state legislature, asks that the GEA be eliminated.
“We hope to make the legislature aware of just how negatively the GEA has impacted our students and programs and how it has burdened our community,” DeBona-Rosier said.
She was hopeful that the resolutions, which have also been passed by other districts and have been submitted multiple years, will be successful in getting rid of the program.
“As they are our elected officials, one would hope they would listen to their constituents’ concerns,” DeBona-Rosier said. “I do not know if a resolution will achieve substantive results. I do know, however, that if we do nothing, nothing will change, and it is our responsibly as representatives for the people in this community to try to make our voices and concerns heard.”
The board has convened a three-member ad hoc committee to draft a resolution specific to the LCSD. They will report back to the board at its next meeting in January.
