Final state aid figures announced in Lynbrook, East Rockaway

School administrators in both Lynbrook and East Rockaway were pleased to learn that the final projections for 2016-17 state aid included a full restoration of the gap elimination adjustment — money withheld from schools over the course of six years to balance the state’s budget.

“The full restoration of the GEA is very positive news for us and helps to fill gaps that we certainly had in trying to maintain and enhance our programs,” said James Robinson, assistant superintendent for finance and operations at the East Rockaway School District. “In our budget preparations we were certainly hopeful that we would receive it so that it would enable us to continue on the course aligning, basically, our budget development to our strategic plan.”

Paul Lynch, assistant superintendent for finance, operations, and information systems at Lynbrook School District, said the GEA restoration was good news because, “it’s money I can count on.”

Both districts had drafted budgets that factored in a full restoration of the owed funds. Lynbrook’s total spending plan for 2016-17 is roughly $80 million. State aid only accounts for $10 million of the total spending plan, or about 12.5 percent. In East Rockaway, state aid makes up roughly 18 percent of the proposed $38 million budget.

Although the GEA restoration boosted state aid totals for many districts in New York State, it marks the final payout of these owed funds, which means next year districts may be feeling squeezed. Lynch said “it’s something to be watched at this point,” and that a number of variables are at play between now and the 2017-18 budget proposal. Robinson noted that although the GEA was restored, the foundation aid — or starting point for state aid — was frozen at the 2014-15 values, which he said was “concerning.”

East Rockaway scheduled a budget advisory meeting for April 12, and the Board of Education will vote to adopt its proposal on April 19. The next meeting of the Lynbrook Board of Education is April 19. Both districts will put their budget proposals up for public vote on Tuesday, May 17.