Friday News Roundup: Week of July 27-31

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.

State Budget Includes Major Cuts to Ohio Grant Program

Pennsylvania Budget Deadlock Prevents Payment to Schools

Faculty Union in California Accepts Furloughs

New GAO Report: State Implementation of Career and Technical Education

State Budget Includes Major Cuts to Ohio Grant Program
The recently approved Ohio state budget for fiscal year 2010 includes significant cuts to the Ohio College Opportunity Grant, money that students and universities expected to receive this fall. The grants will no longer be available to low-income students attending community colleges and regional campuses, and those attending four-year public universities can only qualify for $1,008 annually-down from $2,496 in past years. Students at private, nonprofit colleges are still eligible for the full $2,496. Ohio lawmakers say that some of the cuts will be offset by a $619 increase in the maximum 2009-10 year federal Pell Grant and other federal aid programs. Some universities have announced plans to divert money from other programs in order to help offset the cuts. However, some community colleges have raised tuition prices at the last minute, leaving low-income students to figure out how to make up the difference. More here…

Pennsylvania Budget Deadlock Prevents Payment to Schools
Pennsylvania’s budget crisis has left schools without $416 million that they expected to receive yesterday. Since the state legislature has failed to pass a budget, the state portion of K-12 school funding cannot be distributed, leaving schools to wait for the first monthly state subsidy for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Until state lawmakers approve a budget, districts will have to find another way to make payroll, pay vendors, and cover other costs. With Senate Republicans proposing to slash $728 million from Governor Ed Rendell’s budget proposal, prospects for a quick resolution are slim. Since it takes two weeks to authorize payments after a budget is enacted, the August 27^th payment may be affected as well if the legislature doesn’t act quickly to come to a compromise. More here…

Faculty Union in California Accepts Furloughs
The California Faculty Association, which represents 22,000 faculty members in the California State University System recently agreed to two furlough days a month. The move is an effort to close the system’s $584 million budget deficit, caused by the state’s 20 percent reduction in financing for the system, and could save up to $275 million. The furlough days will likely result in fewer teaching days or administrative duties for faculty members. The union representing 16,000 nonacademic employees of the university system approved a furlough agreement earlier this week. The system has also reduced enrollment by 40,000 and raised fees in order to address the deficit. More here…

New GAO Report: State Implementation of Career and Technical Education
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report, “Career and Technical Education: States Have Broad Flexibility in Implementing Perkins IV.” The report examines how states have implemented this federal program, which authorizes grants for the enhancement of Career and Technical Training Programs. It also examines Department of Education oversight of and support for the program, and what the Department knows about the program’s effectiveness. State surveys showed that most states use assessments-such as industry certifications-to determine program effectiveness, and that student technical skills attainment and placement were hardest to measure and track because of cost. GAO recommends that more consistent reporting from states would allow the Department to better track the success of these programs. Read the full report here.

Briefly Noted

• Illinois governor seeks to reverse Board of Education recommendation that would cut pre-kindergarten programs for more than 30,000 toddlers.
• New federal aid for community colleges would come with strings attached.