House GOP Looks to Slash Education Spending is an article at Education Week. It’s a scary read.
It starts out:
House Republican leaders put out a bill last night that would slice and dice education funding far below current levels and far below what President Barack Obama wanted in his never-enacted fiscal year 2011 budget request.
Fiscal year 2011. That’s this year. Yes, they would cut funds out of the budget that’s already ongoing. How much?
The measure, which would continue federal funding for rest of the fiscal year, takes aim at some programs that were previously considered untouchable, including special education spending and Pell Grants to help low-and-moderate income students pay for college. Overall it would cut $4.9 billion from the U.S. Department of Education’s fiscal year 2010 budget of $63.7 billion.
$4.9 billion. That’s a big chunk of change. About 8% of the total budget.
What really scares this reader is this statement:
Special education, which is typically a Republican priority, would be cut by $557 million, below its $11.5 billion funding in fiscal 2010.
About a 5% cut.
As we’ve discussed a number of times, in the US, the Federal government “committed” to pay 40% of special education costs. That commitment has never been met, with federal support levels of about 17% being more typical.
Schools will be facing budget cuts in the following year. State and local tax revenues, the primary source of elementary and secondary education funding, are down. Now is the time for the federal government to step in and make good on their commitment. Step in and help save the programs, help school administrators to focus on keeping kids in appropriate placements, not force them to make bad decisions in order to meet budgets.
Left Brain Right Brain 
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