New School Year Brings More Cuts in State Funding for Schools

Posted by on September 24, 2012

New School Year Brings More Cuts in State Funding for Schools

Outlook: bleak
States have made steep cuts to education funding since the start of the recession, and in many states those cuts deepened last year, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Elementary and high schools are receiving less state funding in 2012-13 than they did last year in 26 states, and in 35 states school funding stands below 2008 levels — often far below. In many states, the cuts of 2012-13 come on top of severe cuts made in previous years. Some states are restoring school funding, but those restorations are, for the most part, far from sufficient to make up for cuts in past years. Thirty-five states are providing less funding per student than five years ago. Seventeen states have cut per-student funding by more than 10 percent from 2008 levels. Three states — Arizona, Alabama, and Oklahoma — have reduced per-pupil funding by more than 20 percent. The cuts have forced districts to lay off teachers and other employees, reduce pay for the education workers who remain, and cancel contracts with suppliers and other businesses. Local districts have eliminated 328,000 jobs nationally since July 2008, federal data show. In addition, education spending cuts have cost an unknown but large number of additional jobs in the private sector as districts have canceled or scaled back private-sector purchases and contracts (for instance, purchasing fewer textbooks).

Read more: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3825