The following is a summary of governors’ education budget proposals for fiscal 2000. The total for K-12 education includes money for state education administration, but does not include federal, flow-through dollars.
COLORADO
Governor:
Bill Owens (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$5.1 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$1.97 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$1.85 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+6.5 percent
Estimated enrollment:
699,000
Highlights:
- New Gov. Owens, who was elected in November, proposes cuts of about $50 million to former Gov. Roy Romer’s proposed budget for fiscal 2000. No major cuts are proposed for K-12 education, but Mr. Owens recommends trimming $8.5 million from proposed higher education budget. Mr. Owens would cut computer purchases in higher education.
- Mr. Owens proposes school report cards for every school in state listing student-achievement scores, per-pupil funding, teacher qualifications, and dropout rates.
- Governor also calls for schools to be allowed to apply for exemptions from state education requirements.
LOUISIANA
Governor:
|
Mike Foster (R)
FY2000 proposed state budget:
$5.88 billion
FY2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$2.45 billion
FY1999 K-12 budget:
$2.46 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
-0.48 percent
Estimated enrollment:
751,800
Highlights:
- Gov. Foster’s proposal includes $20 million for K-3 reading and mathematics initiative that has received a total of $70 million since 1996. In addition, $17.6 million of education budget is set aside for school accountability, testing, and remediation efforts.
- Governor has promised $20 million for educational technology, using surplus state funds.
- Budget plan includes $83.8 million for state’s Tuition Opportunity Program for Students, which provides tuition assistance to students attending state’s public and private colleges and universities. State projects that 36,000 students will participate in TOPS program in fiscal 2000.
MARYLAND
Governor:
Parris N. Glendening (D)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$9.04 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$2.89 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$2.77 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+4.3 percent
Estimated enrollment:
827,630
Highlights:
- Governor seeks $68 million increase for basic education funding, which reflects enrollment increases and shift in federal child-poverty estimates.
- Proposed budget also includes $130 million for school renovation and construction of 2,000 classrooms in fiscal 2000.
- Also proposed is $14 million extra for special education services for children, as well as $6 million in college scholarships for undergraduate students committed to pursuing teaching careers once they obtain their degrees.
- Budget allocates $50 million for third year of Baltimore schools partnership, which provides money to troubled school system in Maryland’s biggest city in exchange for improved accountability.
MICHIGAN
Governor:
John Engler (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$34.04 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$10.06 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$9.62 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+4.6 percent
Estimated enrollment:
1.7 million
Highlights:
- Last fall, Gov. Engler signed fiscal 2000 budget for K-12 education that raised basic aid to schools by $344 million, or 3.5 percent, to $9.94 billion. His fiscal 2000 budget proposal for all state spending proposed adding $116 million to per-pupil state allocations, bringing minimum per-pupil funding to $5,550 next year.
- Budget also proposes giving all Michigan high school students who pass state reading, writing, mathematics, and science exams scholarships of up to $2,500 for use at in-state college or technical-training center.
- Middle school students who passed state academic tests would also receive $500 upon graduation under governor’s proposed merit-scholarship program.
MINNESOTA
Governor:
Jesse Ventura (Reform)
FY 2000-01 proposed state budget:
$37.2 billion
FY 2000-01 proposed K-12 budget:
$8.30 billion
FY 1998-99 K-12 budget:
$7.48 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+10.9 percent
Estimated enrollment:
847,300
Highlights:
- New governor is asking for $150 million to reduce class sizes to 17 students per teacher in grades K-3.
- Two-year budget would provide $258 million increase in state aid to districts and $97 million in special education funding.
- Budget also includes $17 million for student with limited English proficiency, $6 million to provide breakfasts in elementary schools, and $4 million for extended-day programs for students who need extra help.
NEBRASKA
Governor:
Mike Johanns (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$2.23 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$739.67 million
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$752.72 million
Percent change K-12 budget:
-1.7 percent
Estimated enrollment:
289,980
Highlights:
- As part of state’s biennial budget process, new governor has proposed spending $761.23 million on schools in fiscal 2001. Mr. Johanns recommends limiting total state spending to growth rate of 2.2 percent for fiscal 2000 and 3.4 percent for fiscal 2001.
- Budget includes special education aid at legal-limit growth rate of no more than 3 percent per year: an additional $3.9 million for fiscal 2000 and another $3.9 million for fiscal 2001.
- Governor hopes to increase property-tax relief though special rebates rather than further increases to state aid to districts.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Governor:
Jeanne Shaheen (D)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$1.06 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$117.05 million
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$114.72 million
Percentage change:
+2 percent
Estimated enrollment:
199,660
Highlights:
- Ms. Shaheen’s budget did not include proposal on how state should resolve its long-running school finance quandary. State supreme court has ordered legislature to find an equitable system for financing education by April 1; current finance system has been declared unconstitutional.
- Governor asked for $1.39 million in fiscal 2000 for new “Best Schools Leadership Academy” that would bring together business people, school administrators, teachers, parents, and community members for weeklong statewide seminar to focus on specific outcomes for improvement.
NORTH DAKOTA
Governor:
Edward T. Shafer (R)
FY 2000-01 proposed state budget:
$1.6 billion
FY 2000-01 proposed K-12 budget:
$539.32 million
FY 1998-99 K-12 budget:
$524.91 million
Percent change K-12 budget:
+2.7 percent
Estimated enrollment:
112,200
Highlights:
- Biennial budget would increase foundation aid to schools by $476 million--4.5 percent each year.
- Governor proposes spending additional $4 million--increase of 10 percent--on special education during biennium.
- Two-year budget would pay $2,000 in fees and bonuses of $5,000 each for up to 40 North Dakota teachers who gain certification from National Board for Professional Teaching Standards over next two years.
- Spending plan also would increase educational technology budget by 600 percent, to $6 million over two years.
OKLAHOMA
Governor:
Frank Keating (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$4.9 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$1.74 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$1.72 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+1.2 percent
Estimated enrollment:
628,000
Highlights:
- Governor’s proposal includes $6 million to pay hiring bonuses for about 1,500 mathematics and science teachers.
- Proposed budget would spend $2 million in staff development to improve classroom-management skills of state’s elementary teachers.
- Governor would provide $1 million to hire about 1,000 teachers, who would be assigned to summertime enrichment and advanced-coursework programs for about 25,000 students.
PENNSYLVANIA
Governor:
Tom Ridge (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$37.3 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$5.80 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$5.61 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+3.4 percent
Estimated enrollment:
1.8 million
Highlights:
- Budget would raise basic state subsidy for K-12 education to $3.7 billion, for increase of $107 million, or 3 percent.
- Gov. Ridge wants to spend $63 million on pilot program through which students in targeted school districts would receive vouchers of up to $1,400--depending on family income--to attend public, private, or parochial schools.
- Budget would raise funds for cash awards to schools that improve performance and attendance by 25 percent to $17 million.
- Special education spending would climb $33.9 million, or 5 percent, to $711 million.
RHODE ISLAND
Governor:
|
Lincoln C. Almond (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$2.17 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$595.28 million
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$564.64 million
Percent change K-12 budget:
+5.4 percent
Estimated enrollment:
153,710
Highlights:
- Proposed increases in two state aid categories targeting urban and impoverished schools would raise state support to those schools from about $40.3 million to $ 67.7 million.
- Mr. Almond also wants $2 million increase over this year’s $5.3 million allocation for early-childhood programs, with stipulation that increase be used to expand number of all-day kindergarten programs.
- Citing pressing need for additional classroom space in many districts, governor also proposes putting any additional increases in state lottery revenues into fund for renovating and expanding school buildings.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Governor:
Jim Hodges (D)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$4.6 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$1.91 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$1.56 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+22.4 percent
Estimated enrollment:
644,500
Highlights:
- Gov. Hodges, who was elected last November, has as centerpiece of his agenda a plan to use $150 million a year garnered from state lottery to finance school reforms. He hopes to place referendum on lottery issue on state ballot in 2000.
- Mr. Hodges proposes reducing class sizes to 17-1 pupil-teacher ratio, ultimately shrinking that to 15-1 ratio in grades K-3.
- Governor has also proposed spending $25 million to purchase laptop computers and SAT review programs for high school students.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Governor:
William J. Janklow (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$753.74 million
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$286.86 million
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$286.09 million
Percent change K-12 budget:
+0.27 percent
Estimated enrollment:
132,140
Highlights:
- Mr. Janklow proposes spending $3.8 million for technology in public schools in fiscal 2000 in continuing effort to connect schools to Internet.
- Governor also wants to spend $1 million to train teachers to use technology in classroom.
- Lawmakers have proposed changing special education funding for students who have severe disabilities. Funding for education of students with severe disabilities--which was based on average daily enrollment figures--would be based on head-count system under the proposal.
TENNESSEE
Governor:
|
Don Sundquist (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$8.29 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$2.51 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$2.41 billion
Percent change K-12 budget:
+4.2 percent
Estimated enrollment:
906,000
Highlights:
- Governor has proposed increase of $91 million in K-12 education budget. Of that, $63 million would go toward Basic Education Program, state’s funding formula.
- Budget calls for $13 million to be set aside for what it calls the “2 percent growth factor” to provide extra funding for schools that expand enrollment by up to 2 percent. Schools where enrollment grows more than 2 percent receive other forms of state aid.
- Proposed budget includes $12 million for teacher-salary increases; $6.6 million would be set aside for development of state’s high school graduation tests.
UTAH
Governor:
Michael O. Leavitt (R)
FY 2000 proposed state budget:
$6.4 billion
FY 2000 proposed K-12 budget:
$2.14 billion
FY 1999 K-12 budget:
$2.05 billion
Percentage change:
+4.4 percent
Estimated enrollment:
479,000
Highlights:
- Governor proposes $10.5 million for reading initiative designed to ensure that all Utah students can read at grade level by end of 3rd grade. Students not reading at that level would receive 30 days of enrichment services in small classes.
- Middle schools would be focus of $9 million plan for class-size reduction and expansion of alternative placement for students who are disruptive in class.
- Mr. Leavitt also proposes spending $11 million on technology in schools.
