New York State will receive a $3 billion windfall from the $9 billion that the French bank BNP Paribas must pay for violating sanctions on transferring money to Sudan, Cuba, and Iran. The state senate has begun brainstorming how the money should be spent including accelerating tax cuts and phasing out utility taxes.
CEE suggests instead that Gov. Cuomo and fellow state policymakers should use these funds to increase foundation aid for schools and eliminate the GEA. The GEA or “gap elimination adjustment” is a budgetary device the state uses cover the “gap” between what is due to the schools and the state’s available revenue. Investing $1 billion on each project would go a long way for students’ educational rights and opportunities and bring the state closer to accomplishing a sound basic education for all.
Education is infrastructure — human capital. It is time that New York make its students a priority.
To read more about the recent source of revenue, click here.
Center for Educational Equity 