State aid restoration lets Mayfield keep 2 teachers

April 4, 2011

Now that the New York State Legislature has adopted a state budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year, the Mayfield Central School District stands to lose $1,242,808 in state aid for the upcoming year instead of the $1,357,808 cut that was originally proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February.

The newly-passed state budget includes a restoration of $117,000 for Mayfield, which will allow the district to keep 1.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and in turn, save the district’s full-day kindergarten program.

The district has already cut 9.5 FTE positions (including teachers, staff and administration), and Superintendent Paul G. Williamsen expects more staff cuts to be announced before the Board of Education adopts its 2011-12 budget proposal during its meeting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 19. Williamsen said the cuts were made because of increasing costs, declining enrollment, and the significant financial constraints the district is facing for next year.

“I’m very pleased we were able to save our full-day kindergarten, but we continue to be underfunded because of the inequity in the way money is distributed to schools throughout the state,” Mr. Williamsen said. “We are now $187,000 short and we will continue to cut programs to balance our budget.”

“I was appreciative of the fact that we were able to save 1.5 teacher positions with the restored State Aid; I’d like to save a dozen more,” he added.

The added funding does not increase the district’s projected aid; it merely reduces the cut that was proposed under the governor’s Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). Governor Paterson and Governor Cuomo both used the GEA to address the state’s budget deficit by reducing the aid that the state is legally required to provide schools.

The GEA is calculated using a complex formula to determine a community’s wealth and ability to fund its schools. Many school officials across the state claim the GEA formula is unfair to upstate schools, cutting aid to those districts disproportionately to wealthier downstate schools. Some of the poorest school districts are seeing the largest percentage cuts under the current plan.