(Camillus, NY – March 2014) Stakeholders from 33 school districts will converge on West Genesee High School in Camillus on Wednesday, March 12, to draw attention to the ongoing fiscal crisis facing public schools, develop a firm understanding of the key issues and learn how to be effective advocates for their children, schools and communities.
The event, “Our Kids, Our Schools…Our Future!,’’ has been organized to bring community members of all backgrounds together for an informative and inspiring forum that will let them know what is at stake if state leaders do not eradicate the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) and provide adequate, equitable and sustainable funding for our schools.
“The snow got us on our first attempt on Feb. 5, but the goal of this re-scheduled forum remains the same,’’ said Charles Borgognoni, Executive Director of the Central New York School Boards Association. “Our focus is to inform the public about the state of the public education fiscal crisis and how it equates to lost opportunities for our children and communities. The 2014-15 state budget being hammered out in Albany is nearing completion. It’s not too late to stand up for our kids and be heard. We are on a mission to inspire people to contact their state legislators and express their concerns about education spending.’’
The March 12 program will start promptly at 6:30 p.m. and end promptly at 8:30 p.m. West Genesee High School is located at 5201 W. Genesee St., Camillus 13031-2299.
The featured presenter for the forum is Dr. Rick Timbs, Executive Director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium. Dr. Timbs will address the need to repeal the Gap Elimination Adjustment, or GEA – a state fiscal gimmick that for the past four years has withheld billions of dollars in legally entitled state aid from districts across the state – that includes over $350 million deducted from the 33 schools districts participating in this forum.
The forum is being coordinated by the Central New York School Boards Association in partnership with the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison and Oswego County BOCES on behalf of the students, families, and community members in the districts that make up the two BOCES regions.
For more information, including a list of member districts, please visit CNYSBA at www.cnysba.org.