Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today announced that he has introduced legislation, A.4317/S.2355, to fully eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). Senator Ken LaValle is the Senate sponsor of the bill.

Thiele, a member of the Assembly’s Education Committee, explained that the GEA was originally enacted to close the $10 billion State Budget deficit during the height of the recession. It has since cost school districts billions of dollars in school aid, unfairly burdening school districts and taxpayers throughout the State.

“At a time when New York State has the dual goals of freezing property taxes and improving the quality of education, it is imperative that we provide a level of state funding that is equal to the task,” noted Thiele. “The elimination of the GEA is the best method of insuring both of these goals. With the elimination of the budget deficit and the projection of a multi-billion dollar surplus, now is the time to fully fund our schools and fully eliminate the GEA once and for all.”