Roslyn School Superintendent for Business Joseph Dragone said Tuesday that the elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment. by the state Legislature in this week’s state budget vote will bring Roslyn an additional $469,110 this year.
Dragone said the money will help keep taxes levied on residents low.
He also said the district will also be getting an additional $444,189 in building and building organization incentives.
“The GEA is one big piece of it but it is much bigger because we’re doing a lot of building projects,” Dragone said.
The Roslyn School Board recently approved the issuance of $9 million in bonds for capital projects the district intends to undertake over the next several years. The $9 million was part of the $41 million approved by voters in 2014.
The Gap Elimination Adjustment was first introduced in 2010 to cover a huge budget deficit at New York public school’s expense.
It’s purpose was to help the state fill its revenue shortfall.
Dragone said the state aid along with other revenues generated by the district through transportation services and other avenues will also help hold down the tax levy this year.
“Once we see our entire financial run which we haven’t seen yet, we’ll give out specifics of what we should expect next year,” Dragone said Tuesday.
But, he said, the district’s proposed budget of $104.5 million budget for the 2016-17 school year — up 0.70 percent from last year —will not change with the elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment.
He said he will have a more detailed presentation at the school board’s next meeting on Thursday April 7.
