New Report: Steep Cuts in State Funding for Schools

Posted by on October 24, 2011

Stark finances

Elementary and high schools are receiving less state funding than last year in at least 37 states, and in at least 30 states school funding now stands below 2008 levels, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Seventeen states have cut per-student funding by more than 10 percent from pre-recession levels, and four states — South Carolina, Arizona, California, and Hawaii — each have reduced per-student funding to K-12 schools by more than 20 percent. Forty-seven percent of total education expenditures in the U.S. come from state funds, and reductions in so-called formula funding are resulting in particularly deep cuts in general state aid for less-wealthy, higher-need districts. The cuts often counteract and sometimes undermine education reform and more generally hinder the ability of school districts to deliver high-quality education. Education job losses have reduced the purchasing power of workers’ families, in turn reducing overall consumption in the economy and affecting state revenues. Beyond raising local taxes, districts’ options for preserving education services are limited. Some localities could divert funds from other local services to shore up school district budgets, but this would sustain education spending at the expense of services like police and fire protection.

See the report: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3569