Friday News Roundup: Week of February 9-13

Impact of Budget Shortfalls on Education Jobs

Arizona Schools Chief to Cut English-Language Learner Funds

Scale of Stimulus Spending Seen as Issue

Impact of Budget Shortfalls on Education Jobs
The Center on Reinventing Public Education released Projections of State Budget Shortfalls on K-12 Public Education Spending and Job Loss by Marguerite Roza on Monday. The report estimates the effects of state budget shortfalls on teacher job losses. According to Roza’s calculations, school districts nationwide may need to cut more than 9 percent of jobs in K-12 education, or approximately 574,227 jobs between now and 2011. Her estimates represent a worst-case scenario, as she assumes that all spending cuts will translate to job losses, and that no federal intervention will occur. However, she warns that district-level budget cuts could increase job losses further. View the full report here.

Arizona Schools Chief to Cut English-Language Learner Funds
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne recommended that the state cut more than $30 million in funding for the instruction of English-language learners (ELLs) on Tuesday. Though schools said they needed about $275 million to hire staff and comply with new standards for educating ELLs, they were only awarded $40 million in state funds. Horne’s recommended cut would bring funding down to $8.8 million, a figure he claims is adequate. Tim Hogan, a critic of Horne’s cuts and an attorney challenging Arizona’s ELL funding in the class-action lawsuit Flores vs. Arizona feels that the cuts are “absurd.” The case is expected go before the U.S. Supreme Court in April. More here.

Scale of Stimulus Spending Seen as Issue
Though the precise numbers seem to change daily with new versions of the stimulus package, it is clear that states can expect large increases in education dollars as a result of the bill. State officials are pleased at the prospect of new education dollars, but some critics worry that the scale of the spending could present problems. For example, they are concerned about management and accountability, state “maintenance of effort,” and whether or not increased funding levels can or should be sustained. The stimulus spending increases the federal role in education spending, causing some to worry that states will come to rely on these expanded federal funds. With federal funds being used as a crutch for programs that typically rely on state funding, states are likely to struggle to return to their pre-stimulus spending levels when federal funding expires. More here.