Friday News Roundup: Week of March 8-12

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.

 <p><b>Illinois</b><b> Lawmakers Faced With Choice between Education Budget Cuts or Higher Taxes</b></p>     <p><b>Missouri Governor Calls for Large Budget Cuts, “Right-Sizing” State Government</b></p>     <p><b>Utah</b><b> Lawmakers Manage to Spare Education Budget from Deep Cuts</b></p>     <p><b>Idaho</b><b> Lawmakers Approve Steep Reduction of Higher Education Budget</b></p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Illinois</b><b> Lawmakers Faced With Choice between Education Budget Cuts or Higher Taxes</b><br>Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has asked state lawmakers to choose between <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9ECMOJ00.htm">cutting $1.3 billion </a>from the current fiscal year 2010 education budget or raising the tax rate by 1 percentage point for individuals and corporations. The choice is part of an effort by Governor Quinn and state legislators to close a $13 billion deficit in the fiscal year 2010 budget. Governor Quinn favors the tax increase, citing an estimated 17,000 teacher layoffs and other cuts for school districts if the tax measure doesn’t pass. Legislators are less eager to increase taxes, especially in an election year, and fear that increased corporate taxes would discourage businesses from opening or expanding in the state. They are also concerned that increased taxes would lead to job losses as businesses would have to cut costs. <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9ECMOJ00.htm">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Missouri Governor Calls for Large Budget Cuts, “Right-Sizing” State Government</b><br>Missouri Governor Jay Nixon this week r<a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20103120383">eleased a proposal</a> that would cut the state’s fiscal year 2011 budget by $500 million. Governor Nixon rejected the idea of cutting 10 percent for all departments, and instead released a plan for “right-sizing” the government – shrinking the size of the government until it is the right size for the state. He proposes consolidating the Department of Higher Education with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which may require a change to the state constitution. In addition, Governor Nixon proposes eliminating some sources of financial aid for students attending private colleges. Several other cuts are proposed, including eliminating 1,000 state jobs. Governor Nixon says his proposals would streamline the government and make its operations more efficient. He said raising taxes is not an option. Governor Nixon also released a proposal this week to cut $126 million from the current fiscal year 2010 budget, including reduced state aid for public school buses. <a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20103120383">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Utah</b><b> Lawmakers Manage to Spare Education Budget from Deep Cuts</b><br>Utah lawmakers have made the state’s fiscal year 2011 <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14660640">public K-12 education budget a priority</a>, sparing it from major cuts as they attempt to balance the budget. This week they agreed to a $2.9 billion education budget that is only $9 million less than the previous year’s budget. The cuts will be made in funds for new construction, the state’s teacher scholarship program, and the online high school program. In addition, school districts won’t see an increase in state aid to pay for the expected 11,000 new students throughout the state. <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14660640">More here…</a></p>     <p><b>Idaho</b><b> Lawmakers Approve Steep Reduction to Higher Education Budget</b><br>Lawmakers in Idaho this week approved a budget that would include a <a href="http://www.idahoreporter.com/2010/higher-ed-facing-32-million-reduction/">7.8 percent cut – $32 million</a> – to the state’s higher education budget for fiscal year 2011. Under the passed plan, state institutes of higher education will receive $377 million for the next school year. Democrats on the state’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee attempted to restore $6 million to the higher education budget using money from a reserve fund. The reserve fund, called the Public School Facilities Cooperative Funding Program, was created to help public K-12 schools with safety issues, but no schools have been able to draw down funds from the account since it was created. Democratic lawmakers had hoped to borrow from this account to reduce the burden on higher education. Republican lawmakers argue that colleges and universities should spend down their own reserves instead of tapping into an account that wasn’t created for them. <a href="http://www.idahoreporter.com/2010/higher-ed-facing-32-million-reduction/">More here…</a></p><!--break-->