D.C. Board Slashes Fund

The District of Columbia school board has cut $1 million from its current fiscal year funding for substitute teachers, a move that will severely restrict the use of substitutes for the rest of this semester.

The board's March 5 decision was part of a larger effort to make up a $30 million shortfall in the 81,000-student district's budget. The cuts should keep the system within the $491 million target established by the city's federally appointed financial-control board.

The cut leaves about $800,000 in the fund, enough to assure substitutes during long-term absences, board...