Friday News Roundup: Week of October 5-9

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.

New York Governor Slashes Higher Education Budget

Florida Lawmaker Asks Attorney General to File School Funding Lawsuit

Indiana Governor Hints that Education Cuts Are Likely

Higher Education Costs Continue to Rise in Rhode Island

New York Governor Slashes Higher Education Budget
New York Governor David Paterson this week initiated major midyear budget cuts to higher education, state prisons, and public health, among other programs. The State University of New York (SUNY) saw its budget cut by $90 million, and the City University of New York lost $53 million. The $90 million cut from the SUNY budget represents 18 percent of the cuts to all agencies – a burden that some believe is unfair for to the university system and its students. More here…

Florida Lawmaker Asks Attorney General to File School Funding Lawsuit
Florida State Senator Dan Gelber is asking Attorney General Bill McCollum to sue the state legislature and governor for providing inadequate levels of funding for education. Senator Gelber, who is running for Attorney General, says the state is failing to live up to its constitutional requirement that “adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education.” The state increased per-pupil funding to $6,873 in 2009-2010, up from $6,844 in the previous school year, but Senator Gelber and others claim that the increase still isn’t enough to provide an adequate education to all students. Though Attorney General McCollum agrees that education is a priority, he is unlikely to go against his own Republican party to criticize the budget. More here…

Indiana Governor Hints that Education Cuts Are Likely
Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has warned that budget cuts are likely if state tax collections continue to slide. His comments came on the heels of the state’s September revenue report, which showed that the state’s tax collection projections were $165 million higher than actual revenue. This news, in combination with the $254 million shortfall for the first quarter of FY 2010, paints a dire picture for the state’s finances. Because K-12 education makes up about half the state budget, it is likely to see serious cuts if revenues continue to be low. A one percent cut to the state’s K-12 education budget would save the state $60 million. The current state budget gave schools a 1.1 percent average annual increase for FY 2010 and a 0.3 percent boost in FY 2011. Those numbers do not include federal stimulus dollars. More here…

Higher Education Costs Continue to Rise in Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education voted this week to increase tuition and fees at the state’s public colleges by 9.9 percent in 2010-2011. In-state students will face increases at the state’s three public institutions for the second consecutive year. Since 2004, tuition and fees have increased 64 percent at the University of Rhode Island, 75 percent at Rhode Island College, and 72 percent at the Community College of Rhode Island. At the same time, family incomes have risen at much slower rates. Median family state income grew only 11.3 percent between 2005 and 2008. The state’s public higher education institutions have taken steps to try to prevent such steep increases, including leaving faculty positions vacant and closing down small programs, but they haven’t been able to make up for the $36 million the state has cut from the higher education budget over four years. If more cuts are made by the state, the Board of Governors will have to explore additional strategies to cut spending. More here…