Friday News Roundup: Week of December 12—16

$1 billion in California budget cuts to kick in soon

Utah governor unveils $12.9B budget proposal

Illinois could shoulder debt from faltering tuition program

Oklahoma Education Board requests $158 million budget increase

$1 billion in California budget cuts to kick in soon
A budget plan passed by the California legislature in June established a system of automatic cuts to state programs should tax revenue fail to meet expectations. Now, those cuts have been triggered, necessitating almost $1 billion in state spending reductions in Governor Jerry Brown’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, which he plans to release next month. The K-12 public school budget will drop by around $330 million from 2012 levels, including a $248 million cut to support for transportation services for students. The University of California and California State University system budgets will be cut by $100 million each. Given that each system’s budget was cut by $650 million already this year, university officials warned that tuition increases and academic program cuts might be necessary next year to fill the shortfall. Community colleges are planning to raise student fees by $10 per unit to cover the state funding gap. More here…

Utah governor unveils $12.9B budget proposal
This week, Utah Governor Gary Herbert proposed a 2013 budget that would funnel millions of dollars in new spending to the state’s public K-12 and higher education systems. State tax revenue is expected to increase to $5 billion from a low of $4.2 billion two years ago even though the plan does not include any tax hikes. Still, the $12.9 billion spending plan would include $2.5 billion for public education, a $111 million increase from 2012 levels. Of that, $41 million would cover the state’s rapid enrollment growth in public school districts. Under the plan, teachers would also receive their first salary increases since 2007. The state’s public colleges, which have seen state funding cut by 17 percent since 2007, would receive a $93 million funding increase from 2012 levels. But Democrats in the state legislature say the funding boost is not sufficient to cover the state’s needs, and are pointing to budget cuts in past years as evidence that the governor and Republicans in the legislature do not sufficiently value education. More here…

Illinois could shoulder debt from faltering tuition program
College Illinois!, a state-run pre-paid tuition program for the state’s public institutions, is struggling to meet its obligations. Illinois families pay into the system to lock in tuition rates at the current level; the program’s administrators are responsible for investing the money to ensure that, when the accounts are drawn down in the future, the money will cover tuition costs. But a new report released this week shows that the program is running a $559 million deficit. With confidence in the program shaken across the state, the program’s board put enrollment in the program on hold after September 30^th. Though many members previously believed that the state guaranteed the pre-paid tuition plans, they have now discovered that is not the case. State legislators are now debating whether the state should guarantee families’ investments and cover any losses for payees, a big financial obligation for the state in challenging fiscal times. More here…

Oklahoma Education Board requests $158 million budget increase
The Oklahoma Education Board approved a fiscal year 2013 budget proposal this week that would restore public education funding to fiscal year 2011 levels, an increase of nearly $158 million over current-year spending. The budget, which totals $2.4 billion, includes $16 million to provide bonuses to teachers with National Board Certification (a program that was defunded in fiscal year 2012), as well as a new fund to provide scholarships for teacher certification. Nearly half of the budget increase will be allocated to school districts based on enrollment, and another quarter of it will cover health care for school employees. In addition, the budget would restore adult education programs, provide funds for remedial instruction for students who fail state exams, and implement incentives for schools to add Advanced Placement programs. More here…