Friday News Roundup: Week of June 22-26

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.

Indiana College Leaders Urge Lawmakers Not to Cut Higher Ed Budget

Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Spending Plan, End Session

Federal Stimulus Money Will Stave Off Cuts from Classrooms in Delaware

Indiana College Leaders Urge Lawmakers Not to Cut Higher Ed Budget
As Indiana state legislators attempt to negotiate a compromise on the fiscal year 2010 state budget, college leaders are trying to convince them not to cut funding for higher education. University officials told the lawmakers tasked with reconciling the House and Senate versions of the budget that despite efforts to cut costs, universities face cost increases that are out of their control. House Democrats have proposed a budget that includes a 2 percent increase in funding for higher education, while the Senate Republicans’ version contains a 2 percent decrease. The House version uses almost all of the state’s federal stimulus money in its one-year budget, but Senate Republicans claim that this could bankrupt the state by creating obligations it can’t fulfill in the second year. The conference committee has until Wednesday to find a compromise and pass it in the General Assembly or the state will face a government shutdown. More here.

Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Spending Plan, End Session
Louisiana state lawmakers on Thursday approved a spending plan that would ease cuts to state programs and projects. During the last hour of the 2009 legislative session, lawmakers approved HB881, a spending bill assembled by conference committee after the governor vetoed several line items in the original budget bill (HB1) earlier in the session. This unusual process involving multiple spending bills has caused confusion among lawmakers as to which programs survived cuts and how much money will be spent overall. However, lawmakers said that HB881 reduces cuts to higher education from $219 million to $110 million. Higher education officials say this will allow them to make cuts in a more methodical way. The cuts were reduced after a bill was passed establishing a tax amnesty period, settling a debate over how much to withdraw from the state’s “rainy day fund.” More here.

Federal Stimulus Money Will Stave Off Cuts from Classrooms in Delaware
Thanks to federal stimulus funds, Delaware public schools will be able to fill in cuts from the state budget passed earlier this month, and in many cases will have some extra money left over. The state budget included a 2.5 percent salary cut for public school employees with additional cuts to elementary school reading and math specialists. Though districts will decide on their own how to spend the money, state lawmakers hope they will use it to partially offset salary and budget cuts. State officials have advised districts not to invest funds in areas that will require continued funding after stimulus dollars run out. More here.

Briefly Noted

• Nevada will use stimulus dollars to fill budget holes; Secretary Duncan warns that they may lose out on future distributions.
• Early education is on Ohio’s budget chopping block.