Following a substantial increase in funding for K-12 education in the federal economic-stimulus law, there will only be a modest boost in funding for the 2010 fiscal year, according to a measure approved by the U.S. Senate subcommittee overseeing education spending. The proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Education in fiscal 2010 is $63.45 billion, which is an $800 million increase compared to fiscal 2009. This is slightly less than the $64.16 billion in the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the $64.18 billion requested by President Barack Obama. However, education programs received up to $100 billion over two years in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus legislation passed in February.
The budget measure for fiscal 2010 approved by the Senate panel includes less funding for Title I grants to districts compared to the current fiscal year, excluding the $10 billion provided over two years in the recovery act. The bill includes $13.8 billion for Title I grants to districts, which is a significant increase from President Obama’s requested $12.9 billion, but a substantial cut from the $14.5 billion allocated in fiscal 2009. The House-approved bill also includes $14.5 billion for the grants. In his budget request, President Obama proposed shifting $1 billion from Title I grants to districts to the Title I school improvement grant program. However, the Senate subcommittee rejected this proposal and chose to maintain the funding for school improvement grants at $546 million, the same amount as fiscal 2009. The program had received $3 billion in the stimulus package.
The Senate bill does include $700 million for school renovation grants, a priority for Sen. Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat who chairs the subcommittee. Districts would have to compete for the grants and match the federal funding with local dollars. Sen. Harkin expressed disappointment that school renovation projects did not receive funding in the recovery act, but commended Chairman Harkin for including school facilities money in the Senate bill. The bill falls short of fully restoring the proposed cut to Title I basic grants, which has been a concern for the National Education Association. However, they hope that this may change as the bill progresses.
In terms of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), the Senate panel’s measure falls short of the House bill and the president’s request. It allocates $300 million for the TIF, a significant increase from the $97 million received in fiscal 2009 but not as much as the $487 million sought by the Obama administration. Sen. Mary Landrieu suggested that she may introduce an amendment to increase funding for the TIF. Sen. Harkin mentioned that states could utilize a portion of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top grant program to improve teacher quality, but it is uncertain how many states will qualify for these competitive grants.
There are also shifts in reading programs, although this text does not provide sufficient information on this topic.
The Senate bill also allocates $11.5 billion for grants to states for special education, which is roughly the same amount as was allotted in fiscal year 2009, as well as in the House bill and the president’s request. In the stimulus bill, special education state grants received $11.3 billion.
Regarding Education Technology State Grants, the Senate bill would allocate $100 million, which is the same as what was proposed in the House version and the Obama budget. However, this is significantly less than the $269 million the program received in the current fiscal year. Under the stimulus legislation, the program received $650 million over a span of two years.
The Senate measure will fully fund the administration’s dropout-prevention initiative, which amounts to $50 million. Additionally, charter schools would receive $256 million, which is an increase of $40 million compared to fiscal year 2009. However, this is still less than the $268 million that the president had initially proposed.
In line with Obama’s suggestion, the state Safe and Drug Free Schools grant program would be eliminated. The administration argues that the grants were spread too thinly to have a significant impact, but advocates express concerns that cutting the program would result in districts losing crucial funding that they have relied on to prepare for potential threats like a pandemic flu.
