Friday News Roundup: Week of August 9-13

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.

Indiana on Track to Avoid More Education Cuts

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Proposes Wide-ranging Cuts to Fill $280 Million Budget Gap

Revised Nebraska State Budget Proposal Would Restore Gifted Education Funding

Texas Budget Crunch Dashes UT System Hopes

Indiana on Track to Avoid More Education Cuts
According to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ recent announcement, there should be no more cuts to the state’s education budget as long as tax collection levels remain stable. Previously, Daniels cut $300 million from K-12 education and $150 million from higher education to make up for shortages in tax revenues. But the latest month-to-month tax revenue reports show that Indiana took in more taxes in July 2010 than in July 2009, suggesting that revenues are starting to recover. School district leaders have expressed relief over the governor’s announcement because they have already made significant changes to their budgets to account for previous funding cuts. When making this announcement, Daniels did not take into account the recently passed Education Jobs Fund, which will provide Indiana with an additional $207 million to pay for teacher salaries. More here…

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Proposes Wide-ranging Cuts to Fill $280 Million Budget Gap
Governor Ed Rendell has proposed another $280 million in cuts to the state’s budget as a result of a lower-than-expected allocation from the recently signed federal state aid bill. The Pennsylvania state budget included an $850 million allocation from the federal government for both Medicaid reimbursements and education employment spending. But the recently signed legislation only provides Pennsylvania with about $600 million instead. Rendell is seeking to fill that funding gap with a 1.9 percent cut in spending for most agencies and a $50 million cut from state funding for school districts. Democrats in the state legislature are dedicated to ensuring that school funding remains “adequate” and will be deliberating the governor’s recommendations in the coming week. More here…

Revised Nebraska State Budget Proposal Would Restore Gifted Education Funding
The Nebraska Department of Education has decided to spare the majority of the state’s funding for gifted education in its recently revised budget plan. Previously, the Department of Education had proposed cutting all of the $2.17 million appropriation for high-ability learners as a result of a required 10 percent cut to its overall budget. But now the Department plans to cut only 10 percent of the program’s funding, or $217,567. The revised budget also restores 90 percent of funding for the state’s textbook loan program, which had previously been eliminated entirely. To make up for these changes, the Department of Education will cut two staff positions and reduce state education aid to school districts by $98.7 million instead of $96 million. More here…

Texas Budget Crunch Dashes UT System Hopes
Due to an $18 billion budget shortfall in Texas, the state’s public universities will be facing financial difficulties in the coming years. Less than a year ago, the state universities hoped that their relatively stable budget situation could give them a leg up in competition with other public research institutions. But it appears that budget troubles have caught up with Texas. Governor Rick Perry recently asked each agency to make a five percent budget cut and plan for a 10 percent cut for the next two years. This could mean tuition increases, program eliminations and layoffs in the state’s public universities. Texas research institutions already spend half of what similar institutions in California spend per student and that amount could drop further with these new cuts. More here…

Briefly Noted:
North Carolina’s public universities are reconsidering a four-year-old tuition cap in light of recent funding cuts.