Local school leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have clashed on several issues during his three years in office, with state funding to schools being a major spot of contention. Cuomo’s recent State of the State address left some educators wondering if this year would bring any substantial change.
“I think the big issue that was not addressed, and I think everyone across the state was looking for, is what is he going to do about GEA (Gap Elimination Adjustment),” South Colonie Central School District Superintendent Jonathan Buhner said.
The Gap Elimination Adjustment, commonly known as GEA, has left local school districts with less state funding than they received six years ago. The GEA was introduced in 2010 when the state was deep in a fiscal crisis with the hope that it would close the budget gap, something Cuomo said has been accomplished. Education advocates statewide are now asking that the GEA be eliminated and funding restored to schools already struggling with the property tax levy cap.
Bethlehem Central School District Superintendent Thomas Douglas said he was “happy” to hear the state is projected to have a surplus, but questioned if the surplus included restored education funding.
If the GEA is in place, Douglas said, it’s not a true surplus.
“If he’s saying he’s running a surplus, I would like to see the detail of whether or not he has restored that and now has a surplus,” Douglas said. “If he hasn’t restored that, how do we have a surplus when you are not funding education fully with what’s required by the budget.”
North Colonie Central School District Superintendent D. Joseph Corr said he was looking for “a more aggressive approach” to eliminating the GEA, but said the governor does realize the importance of education.
Cuomo, during his speech, said, “The best long term economic development strategy is to have the best education system in the world, period, and that is our focus.”
Buhner was somewhat less swayed by Cuomo’s words and pointed to the action taken, or rather not taken.
“While he speaks of education, he has not addressed the main issues that are in fact crushing public schools across the state,” Buhner said. “We need to address the GEA and how it is going to be eliminated, and at this point there is not a plan.”
Douglas said the eliminating the GEA would rightfully restore funds meant for education.
“They’re passing the state’s costs of education onto the local base, and that’s what causing some of our problems,” he said.
The GEA was meant to be a one-year initiative, Buhner said, with it known as the Deficit Reduction Assessment, but after the initial year it was renamed the Gap Elimination Adjustment. Buhner said the first year wasn’t as difficult for schools because federal funds flowed to offset some costs.
Buhner, along with other educators, contend imposing a tax cap and reducing funding cannot be done at the same time without negative results for public schools.
South Colonie and Bethlehem school districts have exceeded the tax cap once each, but neither is looking to exceed it again.
Getting district voters to approve exceeding the cap would also be tied to losing the proposed tax rebate, which would have the state refunding any tax bill increase only if a homeowner’s local government and school district stay within their limit. This year, that limit is set to be less than 2 percent.
Corr did not support tying the rebate to school district and municipalities staying within the tax cap because voters decide what school budgets will total.
“There are better ways to look at the matter of property taxes than this particular method,” Corr said.
Any school district seeking to exceed its cap already faces the extra burden of having a supermajority of voters required to approve the spending plan. Local town and village boards only need the standard vote of approval, three out of five members signing off.
“It also says to the entity, ‘If you go above this, you’re risking telling other people they can’t have money in their pocket,’” Douglas said. “That is a difficult situation. It is almost (Cuomo) wants this to happen, but (he’ll) pay for it to happen. … That’s the state government saying, ‘You get what you vote for, and I’m going to pay you only if you vote the way I tell you to vote.’”
Douglas added schools district will have an “even more difficult” time staying within the tax cap with less local revenue coming in through a reduced tax levy limit. Cuts are also getting harder to make, with Douglas pointing to more than 35,000 jobs lost from school districts across the state.