Fred W. Thiele, Jr. headshot

Assemblyman

Fred W. Thiele, Jr.

Assembly District 1

Thiele: Executive School Aid Proposal is Inadequate and Unfair

The Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) must be eliminated immediately; Foundation formula must be reformed; Overall funding must be increased

February 1, 2016

New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) this week called the Governor’s proposed State Aid to Education proposal inadequate for Long Island and the 1st Assembly District. Thiele stated, “More and more demands are being placed on local school districts to meet higher standards, while at the same time freezing property taxes. To achieve both of these goals, there must be adequate state support of education. In addition, a recent State Comptrollers’ Study indicated that five (5) local school districts are feeling some level of fiscal stress (Eastport-South Manor, East Quogue, Riverhead, Southampton, and East Moriches). The Governor’s proposal fails to make the grade.” Thiele highlighted several changes he would make to the school aid proposal including:

  • Immediate Repeal of the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). The Governor proposes a 2-year phase out.
  • Increase Foundation Aid Evenly Across the Board. The Governor’s proposal is weighted against many Long Island Districts.
  • Substantially Increase the Governor’s School Aid Proposal From $961 Million to at least $1.8 billion.
Thiele reasoned, “First and foremost, the GEA must be eliminated immediately. The GEA was always an ill-considered idea that I opposed. Its purpose was to address a State Budget deficit of $10 billion, which no longer exists. The deficit was gone a year ago. The GEA should have been gone also. Second, we need to put more money into our education system. We want better results and we must invest to get those results. With a 0.12% Tax Cap for 2016, we are effectively reducing the reliance on the property tax for education funding, which I support. However, the State must now step up to the plate to do its fair share. The Executive Budget proposal is not enough. We must also invest wisely and fairly. This means that we must also reform the Foundation Aid formula to be fair to Long Island. Do not punish the schools that have been the most successful.”
2016 EXECUTIVE BUDGET
AID TO EDUCATION
1ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
School District Change in State Aid ($) % Change
William Floyd + 4,613,140 + 4.41%
Center Moriches + 405,680 + 3.52%
East Moriches + 132,349 + 2.17%
East Hampton + 179,918 + 6.28%
Amagansett + 6,258 + 1.87%
Springs + 321,590 +15.73%
Sag Harbor + 43,036 + 2.49%
Montauk + 19,282 + 2.38%
Riverhead + 3,852,393 +15.95%
Shelter Island + 37,096 + 6.82%
Remsenburg/Speonk + 6,185 + 1.05%
Westhampton Beach + 59,727 + 2.62%
Quogue + 8,377 + 2.67%
Hampton Bays + 199,915 + 3.77%
Southampton + 113,639 + 4.40%
Bridgehampton + 28,839 + 4.15%
Eastport/S.Manor + 1,582,947 + 4.53%
Tuckahoe - 2,361 - 0.24%
East Quogue + 50,067 + 4.36%