Friday News Roundup: Week of October 4-8

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.

Colorado Universities Submit Budget Plans Including Big Tuition Increases

University of Minnesota Prepares to Request Funding Increase

California Budget Deal: Good News for Higher Ed, Bad News for K-12

Colorado Universities Submit Budget Plans Including Big Tuition Increases
Colorado’s public colleges and universities this week submitted tentative budget plans for the 2011-12 academic year to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Colorado law requires public institutions of higher education to submit the plans, called financial accountability plans (FAP), if they plan to raise tuition by more than 9 percent in a given year. All but one of Colorado’s public colleges and universities submitted plans to raise tuition above 9 percent – and up to 25 percent – in the coming academic year. Higher education officials say that to avoid such extreme tuition increases, the state must find a way to increase support for higher education – despite the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit. More here…

University of Minnesota Prepares to Request Funding Increase
The University of Minnesota is preparing its annual budget request to the state, and officials announced this week that the request will include an increase in state support for the state’s public university system. Officials say they will request $1.2 billion for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, about a $50 million increase per year over current funding levels. However, the request is still below what the university received in fiscal year 2007. The state is facing a $5 billion budget gap for the fiscal 2012-13 biennium, and lawmakers say that an increase in state aid for the university is unlikely despite the request. University officials say that alternatives to an increase in state aid are tuition increases or staff reductions, both of which they’ve had to turn to in past years after previous reductions in state aid. More here…

California Budget Deal: Good News for Higher Ed, Bad News for K-12
California lawmakers have finally reached a deal on the state budget – 100 days after the July 1^st start of the current 2011 state fiscal year. The budget plan, which passed the State Assembly early Friday morning and is expected to pass the State Senate by the end of the day, is a mixed bag for education. It would lower state support for public K-12 education by $3 billion statewide. More than half of that cut would be made by delaying regular payments to school districts until next fiscal year. This will likely leave school districts scrambling to cover payroll each month, and may mean that many districts will have to borrow money to keep schools running. On the other hand, the budget deal would provide both the University of California and the California State University systems with $200 million more than they received in fiscal year 2010. This would restore some previous cuts and allow for expanding enrollment. More here…