Legislative Update

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The following are summaries of governors’ budget requests for precollegiate education and highlights of proposals that rank high on the states’ education agendas.

HAWAII

Governor: John Waihee 3rd (D)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $4.04 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $698.5 million
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $639.9 million
Percent change K-12 budget: +9.1 percent

Highlights

Governor supports a major reform of the state’s centralized school-governance structure that would allow for school-by-school budgeting and provide schools more responsibility and flexibility. He also supports a shift from an elected to an appointed school board.

As part of an ongoing effort to reduce class size in the early grades, proposed supplemental budget for the second year of the biennium includes $3.7 million to reduce average 3rd-grade class size from 26 to 20.

Proposal also includes $14.9 million to accommodate increased enrollment and operating costs in the second year of the biennium.

To expand the state’s Healthy Start program, which targets at-risk infants at birth for early-intervention services, Governor has proposed restoring $2 million cut from the program last session and adding another $2 million. Also requesting $1 million for vaccines and $600,000 for outreach services, public education, and weekend and evening clinics to be provided through a partnership between insurance companies, doctors, and private agencies.

ILLINOIS

Governor: Jim Edgar (R)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $14.55 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $3.31 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $3.28 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +1 percent

Highlights

Governor has proposed $30-million increase in funding for education, dependent on an anticipated $30-million increase in profits from state lottery.

Also seeking $76-million increase for Department of Children and Family Services to better respond to child abuse and neglect.

Initiative to improve health care for impoverished mothers and children to be funded with $29 million.

IOWA

Governor: Terry E. Branstad (R)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $3.34 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $1.2 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $1.11 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +8 percent

Highlights

Governor has proposed maintaining performance-based and supplemental pay for teachers, despite pressure from some legislators to abolish them.

Also has sought changes in state school-aid formula, including abolition of

KANSAS

Governor: Joan Finney (D)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $2.5 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $904.8 million
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $687 million
Percent change K-12 budget: +31.6 percent

Highlights

Budget request reflects Governor’s proposal to revamp state school-finance formula by centralizing tax collection and disbursement at the state level, with some flexibility for local spending.

Governor is required by law to submit a balanced budget, but additions designed to improve finance equity could add at least $217 million to the base figure.

Finance plan includes provisions to lengthen school year by 15 days.

LOUISIANA

Governor: Edwin W. Edwards (D)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $4.59 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $1.87 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $1.79 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +4.7 percent

Highlights

Governor has included $38.2 million for the first year of a five-year phase-in program that would revamp the state’s basic school-aid program. The new program, already approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, would provide more money to poorer school districts. The plan must be approved by the legislature.

Budget seeks $3 million to meet a matching requirement of a $10-million grant offered by the National Science Foundation to fund equipment and technology for mathematics and science education; also seeking $3 million to provide free college tuition at state colleges and universities for the top 5 percent of high-school graduates, according to grade-point average.

Governor is awaiting recommendations from the state board on making changes to the state’s controversial teacher-evaluation plan.

MICHIGAN

Governor: John Engler (R)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $10.29 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $3.39 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $3.32 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +2 percent

Highlights

Governor has proposed shifting $400 million paid to all school districts for Social Security to school-aid fund, which is distributed based on need.

Amount of state aid any district would lose under the plan would be limited to no more than 5 percent.

MISSISSIPPI

Governor: Kirk Fordice (R)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $1.94 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $909.07 million
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $907.04 million
Percent change K-12 budget: +0.003 percent

Highlights

Governor has proposed development of pilot choice programs that would include open-transfer policies, magnet schools, and other “nontraditional methods.’' Governor has also called for education department to reduce proportion of budget spent on administration.

Spending cuts have taken $50 million out of the K-12 state-aid budget over the past two years. Declining enrollment, teacher retirements, and other savings have offset the cuts by $10 million, leaving schools currently with a $40-million shortfall.

Legislature considering a bill that would exempt basic state aid from future spending cuts caused by declining revenues. Bill would also require legislature to pass public-school appropriations by Feb. 15 each legislative session.

OHIO

Governor: George V. Voinovich (R)

FY 1993 state budget: $10.68 billion
FY 1993 K-12 budget: $3.15 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $2.92 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +7.9 percent

Highlights

Fiscal 1992 figure represents an $88-million cut from the original appropriation. The Governor, however, has pledged no K-12 reductions for 1993, the second year of the state’s biennial budget, despite a shortfall estimated at $577 million.

An education task force appointed by the Governor is expected to propose a host of school reforms this fall.

Lawmakers considering changes to the state’s school-finance formula to counter a pair of lawsuits filed against the state by officials of Cleveland and a group of poor school districts.

RHODE ISLAND

Governor: Bruce Sundlun (D)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $1.43 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $383 million
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $417 million
Percent change K-12 budget: -8.1 percent

Highlights

Although Governor proposing less spending for K-12 education, budget would keep basic state aid to local schools at the same level.

Governor also proposes changing state’s education-funding formula to equalize differences between poor and wealthy districts. Plan would cap amounts of state aid to districts, with some affluent areas losing up to 50 percent of their state aid, and increase funding to poor districts.

Governor also expected to propose legislation based on recommendations of the 21st Century Education Commission, which has called for an array of reforms including site-based management at every school, establishment of statewide standards for student outcomes, and development of performance-based assessments tied to the standards.

TENNESSEE

Governor: Ned McWherter (D)

FY 1993 proposed state budget: $4.58 billion
FY 1993 proposed K-12 budget: $1.89 billion
FY 1992 K-12 budget: $1.32 billion
Percent change K-12 budget: +43.3 percent

Highlights

Governor proposed $571 million in new funding through a comprehensive tax-reform package to support school-reform plan. Legislature quickly killed the tax plan, which would have established the state’s first personal-income tax. Instead, lawmakers approved a temporary half-cent sales-tax increase that would fund the reform law at a lower level.

Governor recently signed the school-reform law, which included school-finance, governance, and curriculum changes, after two years of debate by the legislature.