We must reiterate our plea for aid to schools

To the Editor:

As we continue to struggle with the budgetary issues facing our school district, I would like to call your readers’ attention to a couple of reports that have made the news recently.  Some people may have seen the Associated Press report that appeared on Nov. 20 regarding the windfall settlement from banks and financial institutions that is expected to bring in $5.1 billion dollars in surplus money to the state of New York next year.

As has been widely reported, there are many interest groups vying for a piece of this pie, including the governor’s Tappan Zee Bridge project as well as upstate business revitalization programs and infrastructure projects.

This week, the New York State Board of Regents released a statement requesting over $330 million of that money to be applied to various one-time initiatives, including pre-K programs, new electronic voting machines, and aid to 10 districts that have seen an influx of children from Latin America.

However, according to the AP article, the governor’s tentative plan also includes some tax relief for school districts, hopefully including our own, long punished by the Gap Elimination Adjustment.

As the governor and the legislature begin their debate on how to divide up this money,  I think it is imperative that we as citizens make our voices known to our elected officials that the time has come to ease the burden on our schools by providing a generous share of this money and by proactively and permanently restoring aid to our schools. 

Last year, Guilderland schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Wiles wrote a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him to end the Gap Elimination Adjustment.  In addition to her efforts, our district website also provides a wealth of information on public advocacy, including key contacts in the legislature and their role in controlling the funding that districts receive, online at http://www.guilderlandschools.org/district/budget/bdgthome.cfm

With a huge windfall upon us, now is the perfect time to redouble our efforts and reiterate our plea for aid to schools.  

If you have not done so already, I would urge each member of the board of education, the faculty and staff of the Guilderland Central School District, parents, and all residents of our community to join me in contacting our legislators and urging them to give us our fair share of these funds. 

But more than that, we need to continue to make our case known to our elected officials that investing in education is investing in the future of the state of New York — and our citizens, especially our children, deserve nothing less.

Jean Guyon
Altamont

More Letters to the Editor

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.