Education Funding

Education Advocates Anxious Amid Budget Uncertainty

By Alyson Klein — April 05, 2011 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

With the threat of a federal government shutdown looming—and education advocates anxious about the prospect of further federal aid cuts—congressional lawmakers last week wrangled over a bill to finance the federal government through the end of September.

The current stopgap spending measure expires April 8, and with lawmakers and the administration negotiating behind closed doors, it was unclear how—or even whether—the two sides would be able to come together on a longer-term bill before that deadline.

“We’re going to continue to fight for the largest spending cuts that we can get,” Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters last week.

But Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the subcommittee overseeing education spending, said in a statement: “We all recognize that we need to reduce spending, and any compromise we reach on the budget will include significant cuts. But if we want to stay strong as a nation, we have to maintain a ladder of opportunity for our young people.”

Education advocates have been carefully monitoring the budget negotiations because a range of K-12 programs could be on the chopping block, along with other domestic discretionary programs.

House Republicans want to rein in domestic spending in order to get the nation’s fiscal house in order. They already have approved a bill that would slice more than $5 billion out of the budget of the U.S. Department of Education, plus $1 billion from Head Start, an early-childhood program for disadvantaged students.

The Democratically controlled Senate defeated the spending cuts, but did not pass its own version of a longer-term spending bill.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, is seeking modest increases, including for key programs such as Title I and special education and new money to continue Race to the Top and the Investing in Innovation grant programs, the administration’s signature grant competitions, started under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Stopgap-Bill Cuts

Typically, the budget process winds up in late fall, but this year, lawmakers were unable to agree on a spending plan for fiscal 2011, which technically started back on Oct. 1 of last year. Lawmakers have passed six extension measures in all, financing most programs at fiscal 2010 levels since then.

But several of those stopgap bills have also included cuts to high-profile education programs, including the elimination of the $250 million Striving Readers program, a comprehensive literacy program, and the $67 million Even Start Family Literacy program.

Education advocates argue that K-12 programs can’t withstand further cuts.

Federal funds—particularly Title I funds for disadvantaged children—are desperately needed, given the cloudy fiscal picture in most states and districts, said Mary Kusler, the manager of federal advocacy for the National Education Association, a 3.2 million-member teachers’ union.

“At a time where one in five children lives in poverty, there is no greater imperative than to provide school districts with desperately needed Title I dollars to help students become college-and-career ready,” she said.

A version of this article appeared in the April 06, 2011 edition of Education Week as Education Advocates Anxious as Budget Deadline Looms

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Student Achievement K-12 Essentials Forum How to Build and Scale Effective K-12 State & District Tutoring Programs
Join this free virtual summit to learn from education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on the topic of high-impact tutoring.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding White House Proposes Eliminating Head Start Funding in Sweeping Budget Cuts
The proposal highlights the Trump administration’s priorities as it seeks a greater overhaul of education in the United States.
3 min read
Family Educator Lisa Benson-Nuyen, addresses her students in a circle in the Northern Lights classroom at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
Family Educator Lisa Benson-Nuyen, addresses her students in a circle in the Northern Lights classroom at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Education Funding States Sue Linda McMahon Over 'Drastic and Abrupt' End to COVID Relief Aid
The sudden cancellation of extensions on spending COVID relief aid "triggered chaos," the states argue.
5 min read
Illustration on a cyan blue background showing a businessman's hand and suit arm as he controls the strings attached to each arm of a clock.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Funding Trump Cut Teacher-Training Grants for Schools and Colleges. Now What?
Some educator-preparation programs have little hope of getting their money back, even if court cases advance.
10 min read
A man standing on the edge of a one dollar bill that is folded downward to look like a funding cliff.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding States Urge McMahon to Restore Federal Funds She Canceled Without Notice
New York's education department threatened legal action if the federal government doesn't restore pandemic relief funds.
10 min read
Person thinking to enter money maze puzzle.
iStock/Getty