Friday News Roundup: Week of June 25-29

New California budget crafted to persuade voters to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax hike

Kansas colleges and universities told to prioritize budget requests

Insolvency threat to New York school districts

Louisiana state-run colleges work out budgets including nearly $66 million less from general fund

New California budget crafted to persuade voters to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax hike
California Governor Jerry Brown this week signed into law a fiscal year 2013 budget that relies on voters to approve new taxes that will fund public services, including education. If the tax hikes are not passed in November, the budget triggers $6 billion in automatic cuts, targeted to public education and other programs. A significant portion of those cuts would come from K-12 education -- $5.4 billion -- and a portion of the remainder from community colleges. Additionally, under a provision added in negotiations in the legislature, school districts would have the option to cut costs by shortening the school year from 175 to 160 days per year for two years. The University of California and California State University systems could also each face a $250 million shortfall mid year if the tax increases are not approved, and those school systems could be forced to raise tuition during the 2013 academic year to cover the costs.  If the tax hikes are approved, though, 89  percent of the additional funding provided will be concentrated in K-12 schools and 11 percent in community colleges. More here...

Kansas colleges and universities told to prioritize budget requests
The Kansas Board of Regents this week asked the state’s colleges and universities to revise their original fiscal year 2013 budget requests to reflect their priorities in building and renovating facilities. According to the Board, the original requests were unrealistic, totaling over $160 million, and were unlikely to pass the legislature. The Board is planning to meet with universities next month to identify top-priority projects and rewrite the budget proposals.  Ideally, Board members have indicated, the requests will reflect schools’ greatest academic needs and will be supported by the institutions’ records of using funds for capital improvements.  Large requests include $30 million toward a medical school building at Kansas University, $16 million for technical colleges, and $15 million to expand the Kansas Technology Center at Pittsburg State University. More here...

Insolvency threat to New York school districts
A group of business experts in New York says that nearly one-third of New York school districts will use the entirety of their cash reserves within the next two years unless significant changes are made to state policies. While some lawmakers have criticized school districts for maintaining too large of a “rainy day” fund, that concern seems to be disappearing at an alarming rate -- 81 percent of the districts surveyed stated that they would burn through their cash reserves within five years. A cap on state property taxes and increasing pension costs are partially to blame for the current squeeze. Michael Borges, executive director of the state Association of School Business Officials, the group that conducted the survey, says that New York state laws make it difficult to negotiate with teachers unions to lower schools’ personnel costs, although in many school districts, payroll accounts for more than half their budget, and benefits and health insurance account for nearly another quarter. One option the group has suggested would decrease state funding for special education programs, which in New York far exceeds the federally-mandated level of state funding. More here...

Louisiana state-run colleges work out budgets including nearly $66 million less from general fund
The Louisiana state legislature and Governor Bobby Jindal this month reached an agreement to cut nearly $66 million from Louisiana state-run colleges’ general fund for the 2013 fiscal year that begins July 1. Higher education and health care are the only two categories that are not protected from budget cuts by the state constitution. Once the Board of Regents signs off on the budget, the state’s higher education fund will drop to $993.6 million from $1.6 billion just four years ago. And not all universities face equal cuts; while the University of New Orleans will face an 18 percent cut from fiscal year 2012 levels, the State University of New Orleans faces a 24 percent cut. Schools’ considerations for how to deal with the shortfall run the gamut from tuition hikes to bigger class sizes to staff and faculty layoffs. A two-year-old state law permits institutions to increase tuition by as much as 10 percent annually provided the school meets certain performance criteria; some schools will likely elect to implement the full tuition hike for the 2013 academic year. More here...