A pair of new reports raise dire warnings about the impact on school districts and federal education programs from the sweeping, across-the-board spending cuts set to hit all federal agencies in January if Congress doesn’t head them off.
The reports, from the American Association of School Administrators and the National Education Association, look at the threat posed by sequestration, the automatic budget cuts looming as a result of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling.
More than half the districts surveyed for the AASA report—54.1 percent—said they built the potential federal cuts into their budgets for this coming school year.
More than 69 percent plan to cut professional development, and 58 percent expect to cut enrichment, after-school, and other programs. More than half anticipate laying off instructional staff and boosting class size. The AASA surveyed 1,060 school administrators in 49 states and the District of Columbia in June.
The NEA report estimates teacher job losses of 74,600 to 80,500.
