Needy, Impact Aid Districts Bracing For Sequestration Cuts

Education Week (3/13, Klein) reports that "some of the nation's neediest school districts are bracing for tough choices" as they ponder what the Federal sequestration cuts will mean for their funding streams. The series of cuts "is expected to be particularly painful for districts that depend the most on the federal government to supplement their bottom lines. They include districts serving high numbers of disadvantaged children, students in special education, and English-learners, along with those near military bases and on Native American reservations." The article states that the cuts could hinder districts recovery from the recession, and suggests that the impact of Federal budget uncertainty is likely to linger in coming years. The article notes the criticism that Education Secretary Arne Duncan drew when he suggested in February that some 40,000 teacher jobs could be lost, including a letter from Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) and other GOP lawmakers which read in part, "school districts will have final say in determining how cuts are implemented."

 

Alyson Klein writes at the Education Week (3/13) "Politics K-12" blog that Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin "is hoping to make the cuts a little easier to cope with. ... Harkin, who oversees the panel that deals with K-12 funding, is planning to introduce an amendment to the Senate's year-long spending bill that would include slight increases for the key education programs that school districts depend on the most." Klein lists the modest increases to Title I, special education funding and TRIO programs, and suggests that these "would ease the pain a little bit for school districts, especially those that have a lot of disadvantaged students and students in special education."

 

North Chicago District Expects To Lay Off Educators Over Sequestration.The Kansas City (MO) Star (3/13, Masterson) reports, "Teachers and administrators in District 187 stand to lose their jobs because of the $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts otherwise known as the sequester. North Chicago Unit School District CEO Ben Martindale spent much of last week in Washington, DC, pleading his case against the cuts" with other superintendents of federally impacted districts, the Sun-Times reports, adding that his district stands to lose some $5.6 million in impact aid. "Layoff notices are expected to go out this spring, Martindale said."