Friday News Roundup: Week of February 6-10

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s budget plan would give more money to schools, but most would go to pensions

Michigan’s 3% proposed funding hike for public universities tied to performance

Florida House approves $69 billion state budget

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon adds $40 million to proposed higher education budget

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s budget plan would give more money to schools, but most would go to pensions
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett this week released his fiscal year 2013 budget proposal. The plan would include $10 billion for public schools, 3.4 percent more than K-12 education received in fiscal year 2012. Most of that new funding, though, will be directed to teacher pensions. Funding for school districts and special education programs – $5.4 billion and $1 billion, respectively – is virtually the same as in 2012, and the state pre-K program will lose about $5 million from 2012 levels. In fiscal year 2012, the legislature avoided significant cuts to the K-12 budget by reducing spending increases in other areas, including welfare; legislators said that would not be the case in this year’s budget. In addition to the effective cuts to school districts for public K-12 education, Governor Corbett proposed a 25 percent cut to state colleges and universities. More here…

Michigan’s 3% proposed funding hike for public universities tied to performance
In his fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will include a provision to increase funding for state universities by 3 percent. However, the funds will be divided according to a formula that accounts for growth in college completion rates, number of students graduating in particular fields, number of students receiving Pell Grants, and the degree to which schools are able to avoid tuition hikes. In fiscal year 2012, Governor Snyder’s budget also offered incentives to restrain tuition increases, only cutting state aid by 15 percent for schools that held hold tuition increases to below 7.1 percent as opposed to 22 percent. Michigan’s state aid to public universities has fallen in recent years – per-undergraduate student state support has fallen from $6,869 in fiscal year 2001 to $4,577 in 2012 – but this year’s budget reverses that pattern due to the small increase in spending. More here…

Florida House approves $69 billion state budget
Florida lawmakers advanced the state’s fiscal year 2013 budget process this week with a House vote on a $69.2 billion budget. The bill included a $1 billion increase for public K-12 education – not quite covering last year’s $1.3 billion cut to public schools – paid for with cuts to low-income healthcare programs. It would also raise college tuition by 8 percent and cut the Bright Futures state scholarship program by 9.3 percent. The bill does not include any new taxes to provide additional revenue. The state senate has not yet voted on a budget plan, but one moving through the chamber now would freeze tuition at the state’s public universities and increase it by 3 percent at public colleges. More here…

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon adds $40 million to proposed higher education budget
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s 2013 budget proposal, released last month, originally included a 12.5 percent, or $106 million, cut to higher education. But controversy over the spending reduction from Republican lawmakers and university officials led him to release an amended version of the proposal this week that adds back $40 million for state colleges and universities. College and university officials had warned that the budget cuts may force them to raise tuition, furlough employees, and limit course offerings. The additional funding will come from a state lawsuit with mortgage banks. A settlement in that case is expected to yield $140 million for the state; of that, $100 million will be used to aid homeowners, and the remaining $40 million will be spent on higher education. More here…