Friday News Roundup: Week of November 15-19

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.

Montana Governor’s Proposed Budget Includes Increase for Higher Education

South Carolina Legislators Consider Cutting 10 Days from the School Year

Outgoing Ohio Governor Worries that Race to the Top Funds Are in Jeopardy

Texas Schools No Longer Spared from Budget Cuts

Montana Governor’s Proposed Budget Includes Increase for Higher Education
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer this week released his proposed budget for the 2012-13 fiscal biennium, which included an increase in aid for higher education. Members of the state Board of Regents for higher education were concerned that the absence of federal stimulus funds in the coming biennium would mean severe cuts in aid to colleges and universities, but Governor Schweitzer’s proposal would more than compensate for the lack of federal funds. Federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 accounted for $31 million in spending for higher education in Montana’s fiscal 2010-11 biennium, meaning the state would have to increase state funding by $31 million in 2012-13 to make up for the loss of these funds. Governor Schweitzer’s proposal would increase state aid for higher education by $39 million in 2012-13, $8 million more than needed to cover the gap left by the ARRA funds. The increase is intended to cover increasing enrollment and increasing costs due to inflation. More here…

South Carolina Legislators Consider Cutting 10 Days from the School Year
South Carolina legislators are considering cutting the school year by 10 days as they struggle to fill the state’s projected $1 billion budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011. The move would cut the school year from 180 days to 170 days, which would save an estimated $200 million. State Department of Education Spokesman Pete Pillow warned legislators that dramatically cutting the school year would ultimately hurt the state’s economy more than it would help. He warned that cutting 10 days of teacher and school staff pay would drive down their spending, and that parents would be stuck paying for 10 more days of child care. In addition, Pillow expressed concern that a short school year as it would negatively affect workforce preparation, driving businesses from the state. More here…

Outgoing Ohio Governor Worries that Race to the Top Funds Are in Jeopardy
Outgoing Ohio Governor Ted Strickland this week reached out to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to express concern about Ohio’s Race to the Top (RttT) funds. Governor Strickland is concerned that Ohio may lose its $400 million RttT grant if Governor-elect John Kasich scraps the evidence-based school-funding model that was part of the state’s RttT application. The school funding model was formulated based on months of research and hearings across the state, and uses research on what schools need to be successful to determine how much money each school district needs to provide those components. According to Governor Strickland, the formula was the centerpiece of the state’s RttT application, and without it Ohio’s score would likely fall below that of New Jersey, which scored three points below Ohio and did not receive a RttT grant. Governor-elect Kasich insists that the formula was only a small piece of the state’s plan and that the grant would not be jeopardized by scrapping it. More here…

Texas Schools No Longer Spared from Budget Cuts
Until now, Texas schools have felt little impact from the economic downturn. However, in the state’s 2012-13 fiscal biennium, that will almost certainly change. Lawmakers will begin work in January to fill a projected $24 billion shortfall in the 2012-13 budget. They warn that they see no way to reduce spending without affecting schools and are likely to cut $3 to $5 billion from the K-12 education budget. While grant programs for teacher incentive pay and prekindergarten programs are likely to be the first to go, state legislators have hinted that the $37 billion Foundation School Program – the state’s basic school funding mechanism – is also likely to see cuts. The K-12 education budget made up about 40 percent of the state’s overall budget in 2010-11, so lawmakers say it would be nearly impossible to trim the budget without affecting schools. More here…