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Education Funding Under Attack Across States

Our schools should be palaces. Our kids only deserve the best. Education is the key to the future.

Political rhetoric is falling short this year as states across the country are in the midst of budget shortfalls and slashing education spending. Our public schools are already making due with less and further cuts will cripple them. In Pennsylvania, the state is cutting funding by $1 billion:

Less than three weeks after taking office, Gov. Tom Corbett is swinging the budget axe at public schools. Schools may lose up $1 billion in state aid in the coming school year, setting up one of three scenarios.

Homeowners could see substantial property tax increases. School boards may slash programs and jobs in the coming school year. Or families may take a hit to their wallets and still see school programs or jobs wiped out…

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How big is a $1 billion loss? It amounts to about a fifth of the $5.1 billion that the state budgeted for basic education this year. That is by far the biggest source of money outside of property taxes that most districts receive.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a big district, a small district, an urban district, a suburban district, rich or poor,” said Harrisburg School District’s business manager Jeff Bader.

“You are going to have some funding gap that’s going to have to be made up either through cuts to programs or layoffs or at the expense of taxpayers.””

Pennsylvania isn’t alone. At least 34 states have had to make cuts to K-12 education. From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

Arizona eliminated preschool for 4,328 children, funding for schools to provide additional support to disadvantaged children from preschool to third grade, aid to charter schools, and funding for books, computers, and other classroom supplies. The state also halved funding for kindergarten, leaving school districts and parents to shoulder the cost of keeping their children in school beyond a half-day schedule.

California reduced K-12 aid to local school districts by billions of dollars and cut a variety of programs, including adult literacy instruction and help for high-needs students.

Colorado has reduced public school spending in FY 2011 by $260 million, nearly a 5 percent decline from the previous year. The cut amounts to more than $400 per student…

Missouri is cutting its funding for K-12 transportation by 46 percent. The cut in funding likely will lead to longer bus rides and the elimination of routes for some of the 565,000 students who rely on the school bus system.

New Jersey cut funding for afterschool programs aimed to enhance student achievement and keep students safe between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. The cut will likely cause more than 11,000 students to lose access to the programs and 1,100 staff workers to lose their jobs.

North Carolina cut by 21 percent funding for a program targeted at small schools in low-income areas and with a high need for social workers and nurses. As a result, 20 schools will be left without a social worker or nurse. The state also temporarily eliminated funding for teacher mentoring…

Sadly, the list goes on and on.

Tags: Education, state budgets