School+Districts+Face+Grim+Reality+as+Budget+Woes+Continue+to+Grow

= Teachers, activities and reforms dropped as many districts anticipate more cuts next year =

=//Released by the Center of Education Policy//= =//6/29/11//=

=WASHINGTON, D.C. - After a year of dramatic budget reductions, a vast majority of districts across= =the country expect to cut deeper into teaching and other core services, with little relief in sight,= =according to a new study from the Center on Education Policy (CEP), a national, independent advocate= =for public education and more effective public schools. The results are based on a nationally= =representative survey of over 450 school districts.= =The report indicates that, until recently, school districts have been able to cushion the blow of shrinking= =budgets by using federal economic stimulus money to help fill the gaps. But now that money from the= =American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and Education Jobs funds are nearly= =depleted, school districts expect their budgets to tighten even more in the 2011-12 school year.= =The report, “Strained Schools Face Bleak Future: Districts Foresee Budget Cuts, Teacher Layoffs, and= =a Slowing of Education Reform Efforts,” describes the fiscal condition of school districts for this past= =school year and next, the extent to which ARRA and Education Jobs funds made up for funding= =shortfalls, and the types of cuts being made to balance district budgets.= =Not surprisingly, the already grim situation for school funding is expected to worsen in the coming= =school year with a large majority of all school districts, about 70 percent, experiencing funding cuts in = = school year 2010-11 and an even greater proportion of districts, about 84 percent, anticipating funding = = cuts in the upcoming school year. No district appears to be immune from budget reductions or staff = = cuts. Shrinking budgets and cuts in education jobs have affected and will continue to affect all types of = = districts—city, suburban, town, and rural. = =“Districts report that budgets are making it increasingly difficult to deliver on school reform,” said Jack= =Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO. “But, what is really alarming is that education may be sliding= =backward as a high percentage of districts expect to cut teachers and other school staff, and reduce= =services aimed at improving student performance,” Jennings added. “The schools are experiencing a= =triple whammy. Federal resources are drying up at the same time that state budgets are being cut and= =revenues from local property taxes are shrinking due to falling housing prices and foreclosures.”= = = = = =The data for this study was drawn from responses to a survey administered to a nationally representative= =sample of school districts in the winter and spring of 2011. This is the second CEP report on the= =financial status of school districts and their implementation of ARRA; the first was released in July= =2010.= =Other key findings from this report include the following:= =2011-12 reported having plans to cut staff, but this percentage could go higher because at the= =time of the survey, about one-third of districts had not yet decided where to cut. Particularly= =serious are layoffs of teachers of core academic subjects.= =shortfalls in 2010-11 responded to these cuts by either slowing progress on planned reforms= =or postponing or stopping reform initiatives. More than half (roughly 54 percent) of the= =districts that anticipate shortfalls in 2011-12 expect to slow progress on reforms or postpone= =or stop reform initiatives. Slowed progress on reform could extend to many other districts= =next school year because a little over one-quarter of districts had not yet made a decision= =about how funding decreases would affect reform efforts in the 2011-12 school year.= =to compensate for shortfalls not covered by ARRA and/or Education Jobs funds. These staff-= =cutting districts constituted about 53 percent of all school districts in the U.S.= =While the future for school funding may be bleak, most districts are grateful for the ARRA and= =Education Jobs funding. Eighty-nine percent of districts that received any ARRA or Education Jobs= =money indicated they are better off for having received those funds than they otherwise would have= =been.= =“Our leaders must recognize that if cuts are made in education, this will stall the reforms that are most= =likely to contribute to improving our economic situation in the future,” said Jennings. “And as business= =leaders have long emphasized, education reform is essential for the U.S. to remain competitive in a= =global economy.”= =The full report is available online at [|www.cep-dc.org].=
 * =Approximately 61 percent of the districts that anticipate funding shortfalls for school year=
 * =Funding cuts are slowing down school reform. Sixty-six percent of the districts with budget=
 * =About 85 percent of districts with funding decreases in 2010-11 made some type of staff cuts=

= Download files: =

=[|Full Report] (PDF format, 604 KB) Direct link: [] = = = = = =[|Appendices] (PDF format, 2124 KB) Direct link: [] = ===

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