 |
Parent Teacher Association of Connecticut, Inc. |
|
| Education Funding |
 |
|
    |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||||
|
March, 2004Federal FY05 Budget Resolution UpdatesOn March 12, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2005 (FY05) Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 95) on a party line vote of 51-45. The legislation would limit FY05 discretionary spending to $821 billion. Funding for child nutrition programs was increased to enable the programs to continue operating at their present levels and to make permanent the exclusion of privatized military housing stipends from income when determining eligibility for school meals. A number of education-related amendments were rejected, including Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)'s proposal to increase 21st Century funding by $1 billion and Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN)'s proposal to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. On March 11, the House Budget Committee began markup of the House version that would limit FY05 discretionary spending to $819 billion. However, deliberations were derailed when deficit hawks insisted on simultaneously passing spending enforcement rules such as those adopted by the Senate. The Senate had passed, as an amendment to its budget resolution, a pay/go extension that applied to both spending increases and tax cuts, including those already enacted. A final House committee vote on the budget was postponed until March 17 to allow House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle (R-IA) to move legislation on pay/go rules that would apply to spending, but be limited to only future tax cuts.
February, 2004Proposed Education Funding at the Federal Level for 2005The release of President Bush's budget request on February 2, 2004, is the first step in the fiscal year 2005 (FY05) budget process. The president's request outlines his spending priorities for the coming year, and provides a clear indication of three major debates National PTA will face in the coming year:
Following is a brief review of issues in President Bush's FY05 budget of interest to National PTA. FUNDING OVERVIEW The proposed total for FY05 Department of Education discretionary spending is $57.3 billion, which is an overall increase of $1.7 billion above the FY04 total. If enacted, this would be the lowest percentage increase for education in nine years. VOUCHER DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM The administration proposes a Choice Incentive Fund, which would provide $50 million to states and cities for the creation of voucher programs and other programs that divert funds from public schools. This proposal, if enacted, would also reserve $14 million of these funds for a voucher program in the District of Columbia. CHARTER SCHOOLS The administration's proposed budget includes $218.7 million for new and existing charter schools. Of that sum, $18.7 million would provide states with matching funds to help charter schools obtain facilities. The budget also includes an additional $100 million for charter schools to acquire, lease, or renovate facilities. TITLE I President Bush proposes a $1 billion increase for Title I grants to school districts, bringing the total to $13.4 billion. This increase is significant, but unfortunately the total funding is still more than $7 billion below the level authorized in Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act, for FY05. In addition, even with the increased funding provided in recent years, the program only fully serves about 40 percent of all eligible children. More than $30 billion would be needed to provide full funding for Title I in FY05. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) The president's budget requests a $1 billion increase for IDEA state grants, bringing the total to $12.2 billion. This increase is a positive step for this program, but even counting last year's increase, the federal contribution for IDEA is about half of what was promised when IDEA was originally enacted in 1975. Full funding of the federal commitment in IDEA would require approximately $20 billion. LITERACY PROGRAMS The president put a high priority on reading in his budget
request for 2004
PROGRAM CUTS The FY05 budget request proposes a number of cuts to pay for its proposed increases, which would affect dozens of vital education programs. In addition, a number of programs are frozen at the same level as was provided last year. In effect, this is a cut because there is no new money to cover the costs of inflation, nor can the programs expand to serve new students who may be eligible. Following are some of the largest cuts proposed:
PROGRAM ELIMINATIONS Dozens of other successful and cost-effective programs, totaling almost $1.5 billion, would be eliminated in the president's budget to offset the increases proposed for Title I, IDEA, and Pell Grants. Included on this list are
NATIONAL PTA POSITIONS National PTA is pleased with the increases in the president's budget, particularly the proposals for Title I and IDEA. However, we do not believe this extra funding should come at the expense of successful and cost-effective programs that are currently underfunded. For example, states and schools have a dire need for increased funding for teacher quality education, after-school programs, and education technology, but these accounts are cut or frozen at last year's level. The president's budget would cut more than $1.5 billion in funding to states and school districts. In addition, National PTA opposes the voucher and tax credit proposals that would divert limited public funds to private schools. Finally, National PTA opposes block grant proposals that eliminate the targeted purpose of education programs created to address specific needs that are not being met at the state and local levels. NEXT STEPS The House and Senate budget committees will now develop budget resolutions for lawmakers to consider. At the same time, certain authorizing committees will begin consideration of legislative initiatives that the president has outlined. National PTA will follow this activity and report on critical issues as they arise this year.
July, 2002ECS Funding The Connecticut State Department of Education, Division of Grants Management, has released the latest numbers on the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Grant for the upcoming fiscal year. Follow the link below for a complete town-by-town listing.
ECS GRANT ALLOTMENT... CLICK HERE Special Education Excessive Cost The excess cost threshold from 5 times the average per pupil expenditure to 4.5 times the average per pupil expenditure is still in place. However, the amended budget contains $66 million to fund excess cost, compared to the $69 million previously budgeted. If insufficient funds are available, it is likely the grants will be pro rated. [ Top ]
|
|
|
