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Partly Cloudy State budget to increase L.I. infrastructure
Skelos helps secure $1.1 billion for Long Island
At first blush, it may seem like the 2015-16 state budget doesn’t include much for Long Island. But thanks to Sen. Dean Skelos, Long Island will be getting about $1.1 billion for infrastructure in the coming year.
The reason it seems like Long Island isn’t getting much is because early drafts of the budget from the governor and the Assembly didn’t include much for the Island. And of the $5.4 billion in settlement money from financial institutions that the state has this year, only $150 million is allocated for Long Island.
But that shortfall is made up for in the rest of the state’s budget, which will see hundreds of millions of dollars going to Long Island’s aging infrastructure.
“We included an overall school aid increase of approximately $1.4 billion along with dramatic relief from Gap Elimination Adjustment cuts,” Skelos said in a release. “Communities in each region of the state will have opportunities to strengthen their economies and create jobs through tax relief, investments in infrastructure, and workforce development. And important investments in quality health care and natural resource protection will help improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers.”
The budget does a lot of things beside just give money to the area. The spending plan eliminates 60 percent of the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) — the much-maligned cut to school aid that was enacted in 2010 and state Republicans have been trying to restore ever since.
According to Skelos’s office, the budget also includes some significant education reforms. Changes to the teacher evaluation plan — which was a large sticking point in early negotiations — is largely absent. The governor’s proposal to make state tests count for half of a teacher’s evaluation score has been removed. Instead, the State Education Department has been tasked to hold a public comment period and develop a new APPR plan by June.
In addition to the teacher evaluation plan, there budget makes other education changes as well.
“There’s a lot of stuff in here that, in terms of local control, actually increases our ability to manage our education systems,” said Skelos spokesman Tom Locascio.
