Funding Cuts Will Leave Many Education Programs Out in the Cold
Is it cold in Washington D.C. today? No, the weather is quite mild. What you're feeling is the freeze on education funding in the President's proposed fiscal year 2009 budget.
President Bush's FY 2009 proposal will essentially level fund education. This does not even include an inflationary increase, which will result in a funding cut for many programs. With increases for programs not meeting inflationary costs coupled with growing student enrollments, schools will be forced to do more with less.
Further, the funding increases proposed for a few programs come at the expense of other education programs. The budget proposal continues the President's attempt to eliminate 47 programs to save about $3.3 billion. Slight increases in Title I and IDEA (roughly equal to inflation) are provided as a result of the cuts to other programs.
While essentially freezing or eliminating many public school programs, the President has proposed about $300 million to enable children in lower performing public schools to go to unregulated private schools with no requirements for teacher quality and curriculum. To cover the tuition and other expenses of a few students, the initiative would take away taxpayer dollars that could be used to improve public school education for many more students.
In ASCD's response to the budget proposal, Executive Director Gene R. Carter expressed significant concern over the proposed level funding for education and the elimination of vital programs to fund pet projects.
The President's budget also proposes
- Eliminating the Career and Technical Education Program that provides over $1.2 billion to equip kids with relevant and real-world experiences.
- Eliminating the Education Technology State Grants Program.
- A 3 percent increase ($337 million) for IDEA, a far cry from the 40 percent the federal government has promised.
- A 3 percent decrease ($100 million) for Title II, Teacher Quality Grants.
- Eliminating the Rural Education Program.
The next step is for the Congress to begin consideration of the budget and propose changes. Many in Congress have already indicated little support for this budget, and it is likely that significant changes will be made by the House and Senate before the fiscal year begins in October.
As always, we will keep you up to date on the latest happenings on Capitol Hill, including opportunities for you to speak out on behalf of education and effective policy.
Note: ASCD Educator Advocates heard this news first. If you're not already signed up to receive our alerts and updates, join Educator Advocates now.
For more specific information about the President's budget, please visit these Web sites:
- Department of Education Budget Summary (See page 79 for a list of the programs proposed for elimination [PDF].)
- State-by-State Budget Information Tables
What do you think about the President's FY 2009 budget proposal? Please share your thoughts with us and your peers.
