K-12 Funds Caught Up in Federal Budget Drama

Even as members of Congress scrambled last week to come up with a spending plan to keep the federal government running, the transition continued on Capitol Hill in the wake of November’s elections. In the Rayburn House Office Building, the offices of members defeated in the elections were emptied to make room for their successors.

—Alex Brandon/AP

By Alyson Klein and Christina A. Samuels

Cash-strapped states and school districts wondering whether they will see an increase in federal funding this year will likely have to wait a week or more for Congress to complete action on a spending plan for fiscal 2011, which began Oct. 1.

Lawmakers had left Washington for the November midterm elections without completing a number of budget bills, including the one that finances the U.S. Department of Education. Instead, they approved a stop-gap measure, known as a continuing resolution, that financed all programs at fiscal 2010 levels until Dec. 3.

As of late last week, Congress had not yet reached agreement on a new spending bill. In the hope of keeping the government running, the House of Representatives last week passed another bill extending funding for most programs for another two weeks, until Dec. 18. The Senate approved a similar...