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Stimulus Measure Advances in House
By Alyson Klein On a strictly party-line vote, the House Appropriations Committee has approved the $550 billion spending portion of a mammoth bill aimed at spurring the U.S. economy. The $825 billion overall stimulus measure, which also includes $275 billion in tax relief, would provide more than $120 billion for education, to help schools and colleges avoid drastic cuts because of state and local budget shortfalls amid the recession. Republicans on the panel balked at the bill’s cost and argued that only a relatively small slice of the measure would go toward “shovel ready” projects, meaning infrastructure projects that can put people to work immediately. And they worried that distributing so much money so quickly would lead to poor decision-making on the part of states and local governments. “I don’t question the urgency of this package. I question [some of] the priorities and the price tag,” Rep. Jerry Lewis of California, the top Republican on the appropriations panel, said during the Jan. 21 meeting. And he expressed his worry that “large increases in domestic programs could create unrealistic expectations in future spending.” Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis., the Appropriations Committee’s chairman and a leading author of the legislation, argued that one of the major purposes of the bill was to help local and state governments avert major budget cuts, including teacher layoffs. He said he is also concerned about the bill’s bottom line. Rep. Obey added that the economic crisis requires lawmakers to move more quickly than they normally would on such sweeping, costly legislation. “This is an extraordinary circumstance,” he said. “This package may undershoot the mark, and we may have to make adjustments down the road,” Mr. Obey said. Key federal education programs are among those that would receive major increases under the legislation. The Title I program, which serves disadvantaged students, would get an additional $13 billion spread over fiscal 2009 and 2010. The program received $13.9 billion in fiscal 2008. And the bill would provide an extra $13 billion for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act over fiscal 2009 and 2010. In addition, the measure includes a $79 billion state fiscal relief fund, $39 billion of which is slated for school districts and public universities. Another $25 billion would be used for state and local priorities, including public safety, but could be directed to schools. Republicans said that they were largely shut out of the process of developing the legislation. The package was crafted by House Democratic leaders and the new Obama administration. At least one Republican on the committee expressed concerns about the $20 billion in school construction funding in the bill, $14 billion of which would go for K-12 facilities. “The federal government has never gotten into the business of [financing] brick and mortar” for schools, said Rep. John A. Culberson of Texas. He worried that districts might look to Congress to continue funding school construction into the future. Construction Tax BenefitsDemocrats defeated a series of Republican amendments, including one that would have shifted some $60 billion in state and local aid slated for fiscal 2010, which begins next October, to immediate infrastructure projects. Some of the $60 billion is targeted for education programs. “What we seem to have done is gone in and said, ‘What are all the good things we could do if we had six or seven or eight hundred billion dollars to spend?’ ” Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said. “And we’ve started to put money in every good thing, whether it’s economic stimulus or not.” Rep. Simpson suggested that if Congress wanted to hike spending on special education and other programs, lawmakers ought to do so through the traditional appropriations process, not through a stimulus bill. Rep. Obey said, however, that the extra money would prevent school districts from having to make major staff reductions. “The fact is that every single one of the programs that you would take this money away from will indeed lead to jobs,” he said. “If you don’t provide this additional money to local school districts you will be laying off thousands of teachers, you’ll be laying off janitors, you’ll be laying off all kinds of other educational personnel, speech therapists, the whole bunch.” The amendment was defeated on a largely party-line vote, 37-22. That panel’s portion of the bill includes $1.4 billion for the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds program, which permits states to borrow money for school repairs, with the interest paid by the federal government through a tax credit to bondholders. And it includes more than $20 billion over fiscal years 2009 and 2010 in additional school construction tax cuts. The full House is expected to consider the measure as early as next week.
Districts Scrounge for Low-Pain Budget Cuts
By Michele McNeil At a time when states, collectively, face more than $30 billion in budget gaps, school districts are scrounging for money and for creative ideas they hope will allow them to hold on until the economy recovers. In an effort to avoid, or mitigate, teacher layoffs and drastic cuts to politically sensitive programs, districts are aggressively raising money from private sources, upping their fees, and squeezing savings from existing budgets. High schools in Daytona Beach later this year are going to charge $1 per ticket and $5 per car for parking at graduation. A donation of $3,000 from a dental office paid for this year’s science fair at Vista Magnet Middle School for Technology, Science & Math near San Diego. And the Clark County, Nev., school board, in Las Vegas, is debating whether to charge students an activity fee to take part in sports and other extracurricular activities. In perhaps one of the more dire reports of a school in need, the Academy of the Americas school in the Detroit district has sent a letter asking for donations for school staples: light bulbs, pencils—and even toilet paper. But some educators warn that there may be a limit to the utility of such methods that, while often more palatable to the public, may not generate as much money or do so as quickly as more-drastic measures. “I know school districts are doing everything they can to raise funds,” said Daniel A. Domenech, the executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based American Association of School Administrators. “Revenue generation will help in some areas, but it’s not going to raise money to the level that we need, given that this is by far the worst economic situation that I can recall.” As Mr. Domenech pointed out, these are “one-shot deals. ... The money isn’t going to be there next year.” Forecast DarkensNext school year, the fiscal situation could get worse. Already, 31 states face $30 billion in fiscal 2009 budget gaps and are cutting spending, including on K-12 education. Thirteen states have already made a total of $3.6 billion in midyear cuts to their fiscal 2009 budgets. ("Budget Pain Dampening K-12 Efforts," Jan. 7, 2009.) In Florida, for example, education will be among the program areas most heavily hit by the $1.2 billion in budget cuts approved by state lawmakers on Wednesday to help plug the state’s projected $2.3 billion deficit. Although lawmakers backed off on the possibility of pay cuts for teachers and other employees, the cuts will reduce per-pupil spending statewide by an average of about 2 percent overall. For districts facing significant cuts, every penny in savings is important. The Sarasota County school system in Florida will likely have to slice $40 million—or nearly 10 percent—out of its $425 million general fund budget next school year. With such a deep cut to the 42,000-student Sarasota County district, a mixture of staff cuts, budget savings, and revenue-raising measures will be needed, said Scott Lempe, the chief operating officer. So far, the district is squeezing $3 million in savings, or 30 percent, from its energy budget by putting in automated thermostats and even taking the light bulbs out of the front of vending machines. “We’re spending $10 million a year on energy; that’s too big a piece of the budget to not say there’s a better way,” Mr. Lempe said. To help cut its custodial budget by nearly $3 million over the last three years, the district bought a special cleaning machine that allows custodians to spray down and clean an entire multi-stall school restroom in seven minutes. Over the past year, the district has saved $1.5 million in construction fees by negotiating with city and county governments to waive fees for building permits, water hookups, and other add-ons. And, the district saved $250,000 on criminal-background checks on volunteers by purchasing a subscription to a national crime database and doing the checks in-house, rather than having the state run a background check on every volunteer, every year. On the revenue side, the district raised its rates, by as much as triple, for private groups’ rental of facilities such as cafeterias and auditoriums. And in the 2007-08 school year, the Sarasota County Schools Education Foundation raised $1.2 million for the district to fund innovative classroom projects. Such revenue-raising measures will be central to weathering the fiscal storm, said John Musso, the executive director of the Association of School Business Officials International, based in Reston, Va. “We’re telling people they need to look at revenue generation in addition to spending cuts,” he said. That includes school fees, whether they be charges for parking, athletics, parking, or textbooks, Mr. Musso said. “At this point, nothing is sacred,” he said. His organization, ASBO, is working on a tool kit for school business officers, with ideas on how to bring in new revenue rather than make across-the-board cuts to programs. One emphasis will be on venture philanthropy, which supports targeted programs with a hands-on approach. Calling on ParentsSometimes, the situation calls for an emergency appeal. When the 15,000-student Capistrano Unified School District in Southern California sent out 266 pink slips last spring to teachers, threatening to drive up class sizes, parents rallied. A fundraising drive by the Capistrano Unified School District Foundation, which asked parents to donate $400 per child to the cause, raised a whopping $1 million in two weeks—money explicitly used to keep teachers on staff for one more year. “A lot of people were skeptical about whether parents and the community should really be offsetting the budget like this,” said Stacey Flynn, the foundation’s executive director. “But I felt like this was an emergency situation.” She said the foundation tries not to rely too much on parents. It also holds community fundraisers such as golf tournaments or raffles to pay for such costs as music programs and teacher supplies. Faced with a threat of teacher layoffs, however, the foundation felt compelled to appeal directly to parents to raise money aimed at keeping class sizes stable for their children. Ms. Flynn cautioned, though, that the foundation can’t sustain such fundraising momentum. “I can run around and raise money like a madwoman,” she said, “but it’s just a Band-Aid.”
Who is Kirsten Gillibrand? New York congresswoman to take Clinton's Senate seat
BY LARRY McSHANE, KENNETH LOVETT and ELIZABETH BENJAMIN Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand will be named as Hillary Clinton's replacement in the United States Senate. After two months of speculation and chaos, Paterson has settled on Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Hudson) to fill the seat of Clinton, President Obama's new secretary of state. Paterson is scheduled to make his official announcement at noon in Albany. Paterson Thursday night was being lobbied against Gillibrand by the left wing of the Democratic Party, which views her as too conservative, sources said. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-L.I.) and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer are already considering running primaries against her in 2010, sources close to the two said. Gillibrand was in the running with Caroline Kennedy, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Manhattan Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Long Island Rep. Steve Israel. City teachers union President Randi Weingarten's name had surfaced again at the last minute. But Gillibrand meets a number of the criteria initially set by Paterson - notably, that she is a woman from upstate who has won two elections in a heavily Republican district. Gillibrand, 42, came to Congress after a career in law, but she was exposed to the art of politics as a child through her grandmother, Polly Noonan. Although never elected to office, Noonan founded the Albany Democratic Women's Club and became a player in the state capital's powerful Democratic machine. Gillibrand's official bio cites her grandmother as "the inspiration" for her core values. Her father, Doug Rutnik, is a well-known Albany lobbyist, and she has deep family ties to upstate New York. Gillibrand was a tenacious high school tennis player known to friends as Tina. She attended Dartmouth College as an Asian studies major, working one summer in the office of Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato. She spent 1992-93 as a law clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals Justice Roger Miner, a conservative Ronald Reagan appointee. Miner, despite their political differences, backed the Democrat in her 2006 race against the GOP's John Sweeney. She later joined the high-powered law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, with a client list that included tobacco giant Philip Morris. Gillibrand left there to serve as a special counsel to Cuomo, who was then President Clinton's Housing and Urban Development secretary. Gillibrand also has worked as a Democratic fund-raiser and served in Hillary Clinton's 2000 run for Senate. Hillary and Bill Clinton returned the favor in 2006, campaigning on her behalf. She's married to Jonathan Gillibrand, and they have two young boys, Theo and Henry. The family lives in Hudson; along with tennis, her hobbies include squash, skiing, running and reading biographies. She was a dark horse in the race to succeed Clinton, trailing bigger names with bigger political legacies: Kennedy and Cuomo.
In Albany, Higher Taxes for the Rich Expected
By DANNY HAKIM There is a growing sense in the capital that legislators are likely to turn to an income tax increase on the wealthiest New Yorkers to help close the state’s $15 billion deficit, now that Democrats control the Senate, the Assembly and the governor’s office. The Assembly, where Democrats have an overwhelming majority, has long supported increasing taxes on the wealthy, and Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, reiterated this month that there continued to be strong backing for the measure among his colleagues. Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat, did not propose any income tax increases in his budget proposal, but acknowledged in last month that “taxing the wealthy is probably going to be part of the solution if the deficit gets any worse, and all indications are that it probably will.” “There are a lot of us who feel that for the last 30 years we’ve been shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to middle-class families,” Mr. Schneiderman said on Tuesday. “Our conference is operating through consultation and discussion, and I expect we’ll be talking about restoring some additional tax brackets for upper-income New Yorkers as well as a lot of other options.” Malcolm A. Smith, the new Senate majority leader, said he was not enthusiastic about the idea but looked forward to a vigorous debate in his caucus. “I know that recent surveys have come back and shown that it is very popular among the people of the city and state, but I’m not sure at this present time it’s the right course of action,” he said, referring to polls showing support for increased taxes on the wealthy. “The conference members are split on the issue and are discussing it, but it’s my belief that it’s the last course of action we should take.” “I’m not ruling it out, but it’s not the first course of action,” he added. The Working Families Party, a labor-backed party that has considerable clout in Albany, has also been outspoken in its support for the tax. Democrats would have to largely unite behind the proposal, because there are probably not many Republicans who would support a budget with income tax increases. Pending the outcome of a contested Queens race, Democrats are expected to have a 32-30 majority in the Senate. “We aren’t going to support increases in business taxes, we aren’t going to support raising taxes on people’s insurance policies, their soda, their cable television, their satellite television, you name it,” he added, referring to some of the 137 individual new or increased taxes the governor proposed in his budget last month. Several measures that would impose higher taxes have been discussed, so it is not clear which path Democratic lawmakers will pursue. The measure previously talked about in the Assembly called for an increase of nearly one percentage point on anyone who earns $1 million or more annually. But other plans echo President Obama’s campaign call for increased taxes on families earning $250,000 or more. Mr. Silver said in a recent interview, “The extent of the tax is to be determined, but clearly the public has indicated they support a millionaires’ tax, the Assembly has indicated they support it.” That said, the richest 1 percent of New Yorkers paid more than 40 percent of the income tax in 2007, up from about 30 percent in 1996, according to state data, though that figure is declining as the financial crisis makes the rich less so. “This is the worst possible time to do this, because the economy is deeply stressed, our key industry is laying in pieces in the gutter and partially nationalized, and a lot of business people have to reassess their future in the most costly city in the country,” said Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative group.
Gov. Deval Patrick pushes plan for major reform
By Hillary Chabot Gov. Deval Patrick, battered and buffeted by a mid-term economic tsunami, returned to his 2006 campaign message last night in a state of the state address that was full of hope but light on specifics. Patrick, in his second televised address, also defiantly retained his mantle of change and challenged citizens to aim high despite the bleak fiscal outlook. “I still believe that together we can,” he said, echoing his ’06 campaign mantra. “Hunkering down may be good advice in a hurricane, but it is not leadership. I choose a politics less about tactics and more about a vision for how to help ordinary people achieve their potential even when times are tough.” Patrick declined to say how deep he intends to slash local aid but said state and local governments will have to make hard choices as they face cuts in police and fire departments, and education. “We are doing no more in state government than the people of the commonwealth are having to do in their own lives - to make do with less, to trim down wherever we can to get through to a better time,” the governor said. Patrick, who has faced strong public and legislative criticism on his plan to hike tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, also urged lawmakers to help him pass a comprehensive transportation plan. “Let’s radically simplify our transportation system and set it on a sustainable path by enacting meaningful transportation reform,” he said. Some Republicans slammed Patrick for failing to support pension and ethics reform. “Welcome to the party, governor,” said House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-Reading). “This is what my party has been talking about for the past several years and the biggest impediment has been his party.” The Bay State’s 52-year-old chief executive highlighted “one of the most productive sessions in a generation” with the Legislature, pointing to accomplishments like all-day kindergarten, a clean-energy stimulus and funding to fix roads and bridges across the state. But he admitted defeat in his proposal to license casinos. House Ways and Means head Rep. Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) lauded Patrick for finding silver linings amid the dark economic clouds. “These have been the most difficult times to be optimistic, but I think there are still things we can do to move forward,” DeLeo said. Patrick also touted his close relationship with President-elect Barack Obama’s administration and his own plan for shovel-ready, job-rich projects when Obama’s proposed stimulus plan is passed. Patrick said the turbulent years ahead require residents to be engaged. Invoking his campaign message, the governor said, “ ‘Together we can’ is about who we are. We are a home for hope. Citizens of Massachusetts, as long as we remember that and act accordingly, the state of our commonwealth will remain strong.”
January 17, 2009 IN MASSACHUSETTS, local control of the schools means that state officials have limited influence over how school districts spend their money. Yet pushing local systems for efficiency could free up hundreds of millions of dollars, to judge from a new report by a panel that studied how to pay for Governor Patrick's ambitious education plans. Patrick's Readiness Project calls for a vast web of educational enhancements - from language development programs for very young children to free community college for high-school graduates. The Readiness Finance Commission explicitly declares that these initiatives can't be funded through cost savings alone; universal pre-kindergarten could cost $300 million or more a year, depending upon eligibility rules. Amid the economic crisis, there may be little appetite on Beacon Hill for such expenditures. Still, the finance commission recommends reforms that ought to be pursued no matter what. Districts across the state, for instance, could save a total of up to $72 million by buying energy in bulk and intensifying efforts to save energy. While many towns are loath to give up their local school systems, regionalizing functions such as payroll, transportation, and food services could save about $20 million a year. For districts that haven't done so already, moving retirees into the federal Medicare program would reduce costs by a total of $115 million a year. The panel also calls for addressing runaway healthcare costs by moving school systems into the state's Group Insurance Commission, with its considerable purchasing power, or other alternative programs with low rates, and by letting school systems make decisions about the design of health plans outside the collective bargaining process. (The employees' contribution would still be subject to negotiation.) These adjustments - which could require legislation, and won't be popular with unions - could save upwards of $100 million a year. These initiatives would likely benefit individual districts rather than generating money for new state programs. Still, the savings are worth pursuing - at least as a way to avoid cuts as local revenues falter. The finance commission calls for giving districts an incentive to adopt these measures, perhaps by withholding or adding state aid. The finance commission's original charge was to consider all options, other than property taxes, to turn Patrick's education vision into a reality. But in the end the group didn't make firm recommendations about new revenues. The release of its long-awaited report wasn't exactly timed for maximum exposure; it came out amid a snowstorm on Dec. 31. Still, the report sets forth sensible ways to stretch the educational dollar, and many of its helpful suggestions ought to be adopted.
D.C. Reduces Number Of Unqualified Teachers
For many middle-class Americans, a preschool education is considered an essential part of their children's schooling; they wouldn't dream of sending their children off to kindergarten without a foundation for an education they hope will extend to college or beyond. In 2005, two-thirds of 4-year-olds and more than 40 percent of 3-year-olds were enrolled in a preschool education program, representing a substantial increase over earlier decades, according to a publication of the National Institute for Early Education Research. Studies also show that children's learning and development improves with an early education. So who wouldn't want their child to have the benefit of a preschool education? Very few, according to a recent survey of parents in Springfield and Holyoke, where poverty rates are high and preschool enrollment is lower than the state average. According to a survey commissioned by the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation's Cherish Every Child Initiative, there is strong interest in high-quality, affordable universal pre-kindergarten among parents in Springfield and Holyoke. But the survey also found that Springfield and Holyoke children are much less likely to benefit from a formal preschool experience than children statewide. Specifically, 53 percent of Springfield's children under the age of 7 and 58 percent of Holyoke's children are cared for exclusively by family members, in contrast to 8 percent of young children statewide. Access to a preschool education shouldn't be only a middle-class prerogative; it should be a right, not a privilege. Gov. Deval L. Patrick has identified affordable universal pre-kindergarten as one of his top educational priorities, and we hope the current budget difficulties won't affect funding for this critical education component. Funding early childhood education is the right thing to do and it's an investment in the future of our children and the long-term economic strength of the commonwealth.
Education for the 21st Century Speaker Nancy Pelosi
21st Century Classrooms
Higher Education: Tuition is up, unemployment is up, and as a result more people are choosing to go to school to upgrade their skills and more of these students need student aid. This investment addresses those short term needs while investing in our nation's future economic strength.
K-12 Education: As states begin tackling a projected $350 billion in budget shortfalls these investments will prevent cuts to critical education programs and services.
Early Childhood Development
Advice for Duncan: The Early Education Advocate Monday, January 12, 2009; 12:00 AM No education reform has demonstrated a more powerful effect on school success than high-quality pre-kindergarten. Study after study proves that quality early education programs provide a return on investment that few other government expenditures can match. Accordingly, we hope that Mr. Duncan will:
Drum Major Institute Scholars Application Due Feb. 1st
We are cultivating the next generation of Chiefs of Staff, Policy Advisors and Legislative Directors to steer our nation in a progressive direction. To apply, visit www.dmischolars.org.
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The Snap Schott is distributed by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. For more information, please visit www.schottfoundation.org. |
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