Education

State Journal

August 07, 2002 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Tough Year

The final budget numbers are coming in from the states for fiscal 2002. And, not surprisingly, they don’t look good. The question now is, will they be even worse this time next year?

A preliminary report released July 24 by the National Conference of State Legislatures found 12 of the 42 states that reported data had cut education spending to make up budget shortfalls in fiscal 2002, which ended June 30 for most states.

It’s no wonder. The Denver-based group also reported that by June 30, 46 states had accumulated $37.2 billion in budget gaps—the difference between dollars coming in and dollars going out.

Several states protected education and other areas from more reductions by dipping into rainy-day reserves, collectively lowering those levels from $16.5 billion to $10.8 billion between the 2001 and 2002 fiscal years.

Connecticut and New Jersey effectively wiped out their reserves, while Utah’s went from $123 million to $10 million.

Here’s how NCSL budget-watchers summarized the situation: “FY 2002 was tumultuous in nearly every state in the nation. The fiscal boom of the late 1990s that had begun to sputter in early 2001 came to a screeching halt by the end of the year.”

Looking ahead, fiscal 2003 may be even tougher on education and other spending areas. Based on initial estimates, the budget gap for the 40 states that reported 2003 data is projected to hit $58 billion.

As bad as that sounds, K-12 funding is expected to rise by 4.8 percent in this fiscal year over last year, the report predicts—even as 26 states report cutting overall spending.

Arturo Pérez, a program principal with NCSL who helped write the NCSL report, warned that the 4.8 percent figure might be less than it appears.

“I’m inclined to think that will drop as more states report,” he said. “Besides, this can be misleading simply because the base is less. [Kindergarten through 12th grade] spending was cut over the preceding year.”

—Robert C. Johnston

A version of this article appeared in the August 07, 2002 edition of Education Week

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 17, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read