Friday News Roundup: Week of November 29-December 3

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

Louisiana Colleges and Universities Consider Fee, Tuition Increases to Cover Decreasing Aid

New Mexico Budget Forecast Bleak Despite Uptick in State Tax Revenue

Washington Governor Wants Special Legislative Session

Louisiana Colleges and Universities Consider Fee, Tuition Increases to Cover Decreasing Aid

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal this week met with the state’s higher education Board of Regents to discuss potential cuts to the state’s higher education budget. Louisiana is facing a projected $1.6 billion shortfall in its fiscal year 2012 budget and Governor Jindal is set to meet with various state officials in the coming weeks to formulate plans to balance the budget without raising taxes. The colleges and universities are in a particularly precarious position as they will no longer have $290 million in federal stimulus funds, which expire after this year, to help prop up their budgets. In his meeting with the Board of Regents, Governor Jindal said he was open to the idea of allowing the public colleges and universities to raise tuition and fees. He stipulated that in the event of a tuition and fee hike, institutions of higher education would have to improve academic performance. More here…

New Mexico Budget Forecast Bleak Despite Uptick in State Tax Revenue

Despite slightly higher than expected tax revenues, New Mexico officials are bracing for a difficult budget negotiation for the coming 2012 fiscal year. According to the state’s Finance and Administration Secretary Dannette Burch, state revenues are about 1 percent higher than expected in the current fiscal year, leaving the state with $56 million more than previously expected. Instead of distributing that money in the current fiscal year to roll back cuts that were made previously, Burch says the state will reserve the funds to help balance the budget in 2012, when federal stimulus funds – which amount to $215 million in the current year’s budget – are no longer available. More here…

Washington Governor Wants Special Legislative Session

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire this week announced that she would like to call a special legislative session to deal with a projected $385 million budget shortfall in the current 2011 fiscal year. Democrats in the state legislature are less eager for a special session, saying that there are ways to patch the current budget without a special session. While Governor Gregoire has the authority to call a special session without the consent of the state legislature, she had hoped to come to an agreement with lawmakers on the agenda for the 30-day session ahead of time, leaving more time for actual budget negotiations. Along with cuts to the state’s subsidized medical care programs, Governor Gregoire’s proposal for the special session would include reductions to levy equalization payments, which help K-12 school districts that have low property tax collections. Governor Gregoire says that in order to save enough money by the end of the current fiscal year, her cuts would have to be enacted by December 12th. More here…