EdVANTAGE Blog

The Assembly has printed bills to enact its version of a state budget.  Passage is expected today.  There are significant differences from the proposals advanced by Governor Paterson and the Senate.

The Assembly budget plan restores $600 million to school aid.  Most of this restoration would be delivered by reducing each district’s “net Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA)” by 41 percent.

The net GEA is the line on the standard School Aid run titled, “GAP ELIMIN ADJMT + FED RESTR.” This is the full GEA, partially offset by federal stimulus money (a $2.1 billion statewide reduction in state funds for School Aid offset by $725 million in stimulus funds).  To calculate a district’s restoration under the Assembly proposal, multiply the figure on this line by 0.41.

The Assembly plan rejects proposals to shift Summer and Preschool Special Education costs on to school districts.  It also rejects the Governor’s proposal to freeze the data used to calculate 2010-11 School Aid based on what was on file at the time the Executive Budget was submitted back in January.

The Assembly plan does not include legislation to use a five year average of change in the Consumer Price Index to set the contingency budget cap.

It also excludes almost all the mandate relief proposals offered by the Governor and Senate.

There is one notable exception — like the Senate, the Assembly would allow districts to use funds from Employee Benefits Accrued Liability Reserves (EBALR) to offset aid reductions.  The amount allowed to be used would be the lesser of the GEA (after the 41 percent reduction described above) or the amount beyond what would be needed to pay obligations for unused leave time, as certified by the fiscal or legal officer of the district.

Below is the Assembly’s summary of its actions on education issues.

EDUCATION

The Assembly restores $600 million to School Aid.

The Assembly proposal proportionately reduces the Executive’s Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) of $1.4 billion by $579 million and pays

$21 million for present law expense based aids. This would reduce the Executive’s proposed $1.4 billion GEA to a GEA of $833 million (4%).

The Assembly proposal rejects the Executive’s proposal to freeze all expense based aids to the Executive run.

• Instead the Assembly funds all reimbursable aids at present law levels for 2010-11.
• This includes Transportation Aid ($1.6 billion), Building Aid ($2.4 billion), BOCES ($737 million), Special Services Aid ($199 million), Instructional Materials Aids ($283 million), High Cost ($484 million) and Private Excess Cost ($328 million) Aids, and Charter School Transition Aid ($21 million).
• The Assembly continues the Executive’s freeze on 2009-10 base aids.

The Assembly proposes to freeze Foundation Aid for an additional year, and continues with the planned three year phase in starting in the 2012-13 School Year and rejects the Executive’s proposal to freeze Foundation Aid for an additional year and extend the phase in of Foundation Aid by an additional three years.

The Assembly rejects the Summer School Special Education (4408) cost shift of $86 million onto school districts.

The Assembly rejects the Preschool Special Education (4410) proposal to cap growth on county expenses and shift these additional costs onto school districts.

The Assembly accepts the Executive’s proposal to continue Universal Prekindergarten through 2011-12.

The Assembly accepts the Executive’s proposal to continue the following aids at SY 2009-10 levels: Supplemental Public Excess Cost, High Tax Aid, the Academic Achievement Grant for New York City, the Supplemental

Education Improvement Grant to Yonkers, Academic Enhancement Aid, and Supplemental Valuation Impact Grants.

The Assembly accepts the Executive’s proposal to provide $60 million to reimburse school districts for costs associated with the payment of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax and provides an additional $6 million to reimburse sectarian nonpublic schools for the tax as well.

The Assembly funds Roosevelt at $8.4 million which is a $2.4 million restoration.

The Assembly cuts funding for the following programs:

Charter School Start Up Grants: $4.8 million

The Charter School Stimulus Account: $20 million dry appropriation

Smart Scholars Early College High School program