Budget Woes Could Mean School Cutbacks

Legislative Sessions to Address Need for Budget Reductions

As states consider slashing their education budgets in a plummeting economy, the fallout could include layoffs, increased health-care costs for workers, shorter school weeks, and cuts in school programs.

Many states are expected to deal with their funding crises in legislative sessions beginning next month, while others have already started moving decisively to lower costs.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for a special session to deal with California’s budget shortfall, which is expected to grow to $28 billion over the next 18 months. Education is on the chopping block, and both the Republican governor and Democrats in the state legislature have proposed scaling back the budget for K-12 schools by $2.5 billion. The Democrats want the cuts targeted to specific programs to try to allay the...