Assemblywoman
Addie J. Russell (D-Theresa) has attended a series of meetings with North
Country Superintendents to discuss the challenges facing North Country school
districts ahead of state budget negotiations. Russell signed a letter, along with dozens of
her legislative colleagues, to the governor before he presented his budget
requesting that he provide $1.9 billion in additional funding to schools this
year. She is now fighting for that
funding level to become a reality in the final budget.
“It is clear that our schools cannot
afford another year of cuts,” Assemblywoman Russell said. “If we are serious
about preparing our students to compete and be successful in the world economy,
we have to end the Gap Elimination Adjustment and begin to reverse its harmful
cuts.”
Implemented as a temporary fix in
2010 to close a state budget deficit, the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) has
cost schools across New York more than $8 billion in lost state aid. To offset
the cuts, school districts across the North Country have been forced to lay off
staff, resulting in increased class sizes and the elimination of business,
literacy, foreign language, advanced placement, sports, art and music programs.
“These cuts have gone on for far too
long and our schools are hurting,” Assemblywoman Russell said. “It’s time to
end this tax on our schools so they can provide the programs that keep our
students engaged and have the opportunities necessary to enable our students to
be successful.”
In addition to fighting to eliminate
the GEA, Assemblywoman Russell noted that she has authored a bill to address
inequities in the state’s school aid formula. New York is ranked near the bottom in the
country when it comes to funding equity, sending too much money to wealthy
districts and not nearly enough to poorer districts. The bill, A.4609, known as the School Funding
Equity Act, alters the formula to more accurately represent a district's
financial situation, erases the requirement that all schools receive aid and places
more emphasis on how many children in a district qualify for free and
reduced-price lunches.
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