In an effort to inform the community about the budget-building process and the educational issues that affect Garden City Public Schools, the district continues its “Question of the Week” series with new FAQs posed by our parents and residents. A compilation of current and previous Questions of the Week is posted to the district website under “Budget Information.” If you have a question about the budget, or any educational issue you’d like answered, please email your question to Dr. Catherine Knight: knightc@optonline.net.
Q: What is the GEA?
A: New York State’s Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) began in the 2009-’10 school year (then known as the DRA, the Deficient Reduction Assessment) as an emergency measure to address a multi-billion dollar state budget deficit by withholding a portion of the state aid allocated to school districts by the state’s own formulas. The DRA reduced aid to schools that year by $1.5 billion. The financial blow was partially offset by an influx of federal dollars through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
Since then, the DRA, renamed the GEA, has been retained as part of each year’s state budget by state leaders, but there have been no further federal grants to offset the financial impact to New York State’s public school districts.
The financial pressures placed on school districts in the past 5 years are unprecedented—a “perfect storm” of a downward economy and a flurry of new legislation and mandates that limit districts’ ability to respond and oversee decision-making at the local level.
Q: How has the GEA impacted Garden City Public Schools?
A: For Garden City Public Schools, the 5-year net loss to GEA has totaled $4,683,574 (this number does not include any GEA reduction included in the Governor’s 2015-’16 proposed budget). An infographic illustrating the recent GEA losses to Garden City is posted to the district’s website (www.gardencity.k12.ny.us) under “Recent News.”
The impact of the GEA on Garden City Public Schools has been substantial. Although 95% of the revenues to keep the district operational come from local property taxes, the other 5%, approximately $5 million, comes from state and federal aid.
Q: Will the school aid lost in previous years to the GEA be restored to school districts?
A: No. The only “restoration” of GEA monies is accomplished by amending the state budget in an upcoming year. Monies lost to the GEA in past years will not be made up.
Legislators are currently in budget deliberations in Albany regarding the specifics of the Governor’s proposed state budget. It is important to note that if the legislature decides to include any restoration of GEA monies to districts, it will not be a fixed percentage or amount. Since the GEA and any restoration of GEA monies are tied to the state aid formulas, the restoration amount, if any, will vary district-to-district.
Seeing districts’ financial “big picture” over the past few years is important to framing the distress that many school districts are experiencing. The loss of state aid has been a trend of declining government support for public schools for over a decade. For example, in a recently released financial report, state aid allocated to Garden City Public Schools has dropped from 10.19 percent in 1990 to 4.86 percent in 2014.
A recent release by civic groups and public education advocates (see “EITC—Diversion of Public Funds” posted on the district website; Superintendent; Education Updates), indicates that “more than half of public schools are still receiving less state aid in 2014 than they did in 2008; … there is a shortfall of more than $1 billion in Gap Elimination Adjustments (GEA) related to public school funding; and …. the state still owes $4 billion in foundation aid to school districts, as promised after the resolution of the Campaign for Fiscal Equality (CFE) lawsuit.”
Q: Is the GEA going away?
A: It is impossible to predict at this time given that the details of the governor’s proposed budget unveiled during his State-of-the-State Address/Budget Presentation on Jan. 21 are still to be revealed, and there was no mention of the GEA. A bill designed to restore more GEA funds to school districts was passed by the New York State Senate in early 2014, but the Assembly did not take action.
Without a public response, there is little incentive for state leaders to completely eliminate the GEA. Parents and residents should be aware of its cost to their local schools. The governor’s proposed 2015-’16 education initiatives contain substantial changes that will spell more financial pressures placed on school districts and further loss of local control if approved by legislators. To view the governor’s “2015 Opportunity Agenda,” visit the district website, Superintendent, Education Updates.
Your voice can make a difference. Garden City’s reputation as a “destination location”—a community people seek out in which to live, work, raise their families and stay—is due in no small part to the excellence of our schools. The funding required to maintain our nationally-recognized educational program is being stressed as never before. You can help by sharing your concerns will our representatives in Albany as they deliberate on the governor’s budget and education proposals. Please call or email:
Senator Kemp Hannon
595 Stewart Ave., Suite 540, Garden City, NY 11530
516-739-1700 – hannon@nysenate.gov
Assemblyman Edward Ra
825 East Gate Blvd., Suite 207, Garden City, NY 11530
516-535-4095 – rae@assemly.state.ny.us
NYS Regent Roger Tilles
100 Crossways Park West, Suite 107, Woodbury, NY 11797
516-364-2533 – Regent.Tilles@nysed.gov
NYS Commissioner of Education
89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234
518-474-3852 – commissioner@mail.nysed.gov
—Submitted by Garden City Public School District
