Cazenovia — The Cazenovia Central School District is, once again, facing a dire financial situation as it prepares its 2016-17 budget, thanks to the lack of state school funding aid proposed by the governor this year. If the state funding numbers do not change, the Cazenovia Board of Education will once again face the choice of exceeding the state-mandated tax cap in its budget or making major cuts to district programming, according to district officials.
During the school board’s regular monthly meeting last week, Assistant Superintendent Thomas Finnerty said that the district is owed $568,000 in Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) restoration this year but, under the governor’s current budget proposal, Cazenovia will receive only $198,000. That small amount of state aid, plus the reality of the state-mandated tax cap (which this year will allow for only a .12 percent growth factor or the ability to raise an extra $19,000 in taxes for a $3 million budget) makes the district’s fiscal position in 2016 extremely untenable, according to Finnerty.
The GEA, first introduced for the 2010-11 fiscal year, essentially takes school aid funding away from districts in order to fill state budget gaps. The GEA was initially stated to be a temporary program but, despite the state now having a surplus, it has continued unabated with no end in sight.
Finnerty said the district is about $700,000 “in the hole” going forward in the current budget and with the GEA funding, the tax cap and the governor’s proposal to completely eliminate school foundation aid this year, the district will either have to exceed the tax cap this year or make “drastic cuts” in programs.
This news came out only days before the New York State Comptroller’s Office declared the Cazenovia district suffers from “moderate” fiscal stress, as determined by the Comptroller’s Office annual Fiscal Stress Monitoring System report.
continued — Lisa Lounsbury, who spearheads the board’s GEA restoration initiative, said she feels that Cazenovia students and taxpayers are going to be “significantly short changed” again this year, as in years past. She said the governor’s current school funding plans and the ongoing unfairness of how state aid is distributed to districts across New York has resulted in Cazenovia receiving less state aid then it did last year.
“I believe that this budget year is going to be one of the most challenging ones we have faced,” Lounsbury said. “We have projected reduced state aid revenue, reduced tax revenue due to the property tax calculation being at an all time low since it was installed in 2011 and pressure to improve our financial stability. Through the dedication and creativity of our teachers, administration, support staff and community volunteers we have been able to prevent significant cuts to our programs, services and support to our students. This year is going to be different unless something changes.”
Both Finnerty and Superintendent Matt Reilly said they were “hopeful” the district may receive its full GEA funding this year after the state budget process is gone through, but that is far from certain.
Reilly and Lounsbury said they will be active again this year in lobbying state officials and state lawmakers to get Cazenovia’s fair share of state education funding, and they will again be reaching out to the community for support.
“We will be posting info on the website, writing letters for publication, sending a direct mail postcard, putting our GEA thermometer back on the fence and all of the other things that we did last year,” Reilly said.
“Thankfully, Cazenovia citizens are passionate about our kids. This community has a strong history of rallying to help each other and to support important initiatives. We will need everyone’s help again this year to advocate for our students. We need to do everything in our power to make sure that Cazenovia does not get short changed again,” Lounsbury said.
For more information about the GEA and its effect on Cazenovia district budget and funding, visit the district website at cazenoviacsd.com.
