Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, called the school aid increase in the new state budget needed relief for North Country schools.
The $23.5 billion education plan, which increases education spending by $1.6 billion over last year and includes a 60 percent reduction to the Gap Elimination Adjustment, will essentially eliminate GEA for most North Country school districts. The GEA reductions are focused on needy school districts including many in the North Country. A handful of local schools expect to have the remainder of GEA eliminated next year.
“Our students deserve adequate funding and we’ve secured a dramatic increase in this year’s budget to support them,” Russell said. “$1 billion is going directly to school aid and GEA elimination, sending a strong message of support for our public schools.”
Norwood-Norfolk, Morristown, Massena, Lisbon, Madrid-Waddington, Hammond, Heuvelton, Indian-River, Lyme, and LaFargeville Central School Districts along with Ogdensburg and Watertown City School Districts will see approximately 98 percent of the GEA cut this year. Canton, Potsdam, and General Brown Central Schools are slated for a roughly 65 percent reduction in GEA and Thousand Islands, Alexandria Bay, and Sackets Harbor Central Schools will get close to a 40 percent reduction.
“The reductions in GEA cuts this year will allow us to get on with the important business of increasing foundation aid in the years to come,” Russell said.
The spending plan also adds $30 million for full-day universal pre-kindergarten in upstate schools.