Hard Times Hit Schools

States’ Budget Shortfalls Darken Start of New Year

Just two months ago, states had already racked up $40 billion in budget shortfalls so far this fiscal year—or the equivalent of the K-12 education budget for the entire state of Texas, with a couple billion left over in change.

The number only keeps rising, along with the pressure on educators at every level, as they start the 2008-09 school year.

Florida’s budget gap has risen to $1.5 billion, South Carolina’s is up by $222 million, and Washington state is looking at a $61 million increase in its shortfall—all of them having learned in the last few weeks that the tax revenue they depend on to fund everything from schools to prisons...