Education Aid Caught in Budget Debate Crossfire

Education Aid Caught in Budget Debate CrossfireEducation Week: 3.25.11 by Alyson Klein

As Congress faces an April 8 deadline to come up with a spending bill for the rest of the federal fiscal year, education advocates, states, and school districts remain anxious about what—and how much—may end up being cut from K-12 aid in any final deal.

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The vulnerability of education funding was clearly demonstrated in the stopgap measure signed into law March 2 . . . . . eliminated money for the:
$250 million Striving Readers program
$67 million Even Start Family Literacy program
$88 million Smaller Learning Communities program.
("Budget Cuts Raise Questions About Federal Commitment to Literacy," March, 16, 2011.)

The most recent extension of government funding, approved March 17, did not restore the support for those programs, and it made one new education-related cut: a $125 million career-pathways program in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Still, the House GOP’s longer-range intention appears clear: The budget bill passed by the House in February and later defeated in the Democratic-controlled Senate would have cut more than $5 billion from the Education Department, as well as $1 billion from Head Start, the federal preschool program for low-income children, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Still, a number of smaller education programs are on shaky footing, including the $100 million Educational Technology State Grants. That initiative was slated for consolidation in the administration’s 2011 and 2012 budget requests—both of which sought to combine 38 smaller programs into 11 broader funding streams. It was also slated for elimination under a defeated Senate Democratic fiscal 2011 spending plan. ("Obama Seeks to Shelter Education in 2012 Budget," February 14, 2011.)

Other programs slated for consolidation under the president’s budget are also likely to face increased scrutiny from lawmakers looking for cuts, including the $19 million Literacy Through School Libraries program and the $119 million Teaching American History program. READ MORE !