After hearing Gov. Cuomo’s Budget Address and digesting his proposals over the last week, one thing became clear: he has lost sight of what’s most important to our state. Our children’s education should be the top priority this year and every year; yet, the governor’s proposals on education lacked any real substance. With our state’s education system being one of the top hot-button issues for New Yorkers, Gov. Cuomo knew he had to address it. What’s troubling is the vague and misleading way he did so, especially regarding the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA).

The GEA is a formula-based cut to state funding for school districts that was put into place in 2011 to help the state close a budget gap. It has long been ridiculed by school boards and the state teacher’s union. The GEA has still not been fully restored and our schools are still owed funding.

In his speech, Gov. Cuomo made it sound like he was proposing a complete elimination of the GEA this year. In actuality, the governor’s plan takes place over two years, and only about 30 percent of GEA would be eliminated in 2016. This is essential money that is owed back to our schools for critical programs and after-school activities. It’s unconscionable that our children should have to wait years to get funding that should already be theirs.

The GEA isn’t the only place where Gov. Cuomo proved to be out of touch with education. In his presentation, he showed no leadership on how to better educate our children after the disastrous unraveling of his Common Core curriculum. It’s an immeasurable disservice to our children to continue letting their education take a backseat to political agendas and misdirected priorities.

It’s time to fully fund our schools and cultivate a new curriculum developed at the local level to give our children the high-quality education they deserve. Our schools are failing their students, not only because of Common Core, but because they are lacking the funds needed for essential student programs. Withholding funding only further exacerbates the problem; replacing Common Core with a curriculum developed at the local level and completely eliminating the GEA are the only real solutions.

I remain committed to bettering our state’s education system and fully eliminating the GEA in this year’s budget to ensure our children have a world-class education and the brightest possible futures. I welcome your thoughts on education in our state or any other legislative matter. Please call me at 493-3909 or email me at blankenbushk@assembly.state.ny.us to share your ideas.