To: David DiPietro (NY-147) and Patrick M. Gallivan (NY-59)
Support WNY schools! Stop the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA).
For the last several years, the New York state budget has been balanced by sacrificing our public education system. School districts across western New York have run out of money due to the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) and continue to cut faculty, support staff and programs year after year, with no end in sight. Please vote to protect the rights of your youngest constituents this week as you work to finalize the state's budget. Provide western New York schools with the funding levels they had in 2007-2008, before billions of dollars were taken away from education to correct the economic collapse.
Why is this important?
Western New York Schools have lost millions of dollars because of a NYS government policy called the Gap Elimination Adjustment. The policy is crushing school budgets, causing major program and staff cuts. Most local school districts are facing another year of budget shortfalls and will be forced to make additional staffing cuts to their remaining faculty and support staff. Our children and students deserve better.