NY Senate Votes To End Education’s Gap Elimination Adjustment

The New York Senate has voted to end a policy (Gap Elimination Adjustment) that allowed the State to withhold a portion of school funding from local districts to prop up the state's overall budget. The practice dates back to the recession, when the state faced billion-dollar budget deficits. In recent years lawmakers have gradually reduced the amount withheld from local districts, and now the policy primarily affects rural and suburban districts more than high-need urban districts. The measure to totally eliminate the practice passed Monday and now goes to the Assembly.