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WAITING ON WASHINGTON CLOCK TICKS AS SCHOOL DISTRICTS EYE POTENTIAL FEDERAL CUTS THAT WOULD HIT 2013-2014 BUDGETS ON MARCH 1 WRITTEN BY MICHELLE FISHER
fiscal cliff, the deadline extension gave legislators two more months to craft a final budget agreement. With less than one month remaining,
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school officials are awaiting word on how deep their own budget shortfalls might be. If sequestration, or a seizure of funds, takes effect, federal education funds will be cut by approximately 10 percent. Te Congressional Budget Office estimat-
hen President Obama signed a plan Jan. 1 that prevented the country from tumbling over the
ed that the U.S. Department of Education will be hit with automatic, across-the-board cuts ranging from 7.8 percent in 2013 to 5.5 percent in 2021. While not all reduc- tions would be immediate, federal programs such as Head Start, Title I and state special education funding would feel the impact right away. Deborah Rigsby, director of federal legislation for the National School Boards Association (NSBA), said sequestration would cost districts more than $300,000 for every 5,000 children enrolled. NSBA President C. Ed Massey said he
14 School Transportation News February 2013
has visited schools nationwide to discuss sequestration with fellow board members, teachers and officials. He pointed to a school district in Pennsylvania that may have to cancel its summer reading program. A Nevada district might reduce funding for early childhood education and services for homeless students. “Like these school districts, many others
would have to defer purchasing new textbooks and technology,” Massey added. “Others would have to defer maintenance on school buildings and buses.”
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