The FY05 Budget
As required by federal law, on the first Monday in February the
President presented his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2005 (FY05
= School Year 2005-06) to the nation. Each of the last three budget
proposals have included elimination of a number of education programs.
This year 38 programs are on the chopping block.
Also proposed is a freeze on funding for 80 education programs.
A freeze in “budget-speak” really means a cut, since
a freeze does not take into account increased costs of the program
from year to year. These programs include Migrant Education, Impact
Aid, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, 21st Century Community
Learning Centers/Afterschool, Rural Education, and English Language
Acquisition State Grants.
Overall, the proposed budget includes only a 3% increase for all
education programs, the smallest proposed increase since 1996. It
is also important to note that, while the total pot of money of
education from all sources has increased steadily over the last
several years, the federal contribution has steadily declined since
2000. This means that states and local communities, many of which
are suffering significant budget shortfalls, are being asked to
pick up more and more of the costs of education.
The big winners in this proposed budget are Title I of No Child
Left Behind (+ $1 billion) and the IDEA State Grants (+ $1 billion).
While $1 billion for each of the programs would be a generous increase,
it keeps us on a very slow trajectory toward full funding. For IDEA
to reach full funding in the next 8 to 10 years, at least $2 billion
would be needed annually. Title I is also significantly under-funded
in relation to the number of children who are eligible but not receiving
services. Also, once again the President proposes to freeze the
IDEA Preschool program, decreases funding for the Part D Technology
and Media programs, and moves all special education research funding
to the new Institute for Education Sciences.
The President has also proposed a new initiative – “Jobs
for the 21st Century” – with a price tag of $288 million.
While the budget documents indicate this is new funding, it is likely
that some of this funding would derive from the elimination of the
38 programs mentioned above. LDA has been working closely with a
number of other groups on legislation to improve adolescent literacy,
and conceptually this initiative would address that concern.
“Jobs for the 21st Century” includes several components:
- “Striving Readers,” focused on developing and implementing
research-based interventions to improve reading skills of middle
and high school students reading below grade level;
- “Secondary Education Mathematics Initiative,” providing
100-140 competitive grants to ensure that high school math teachers
are highly qualified and to help meet the needs of struggling
students;
- “Advanced Placement” program to increase the rigor
of high school curricula through professional development in teaching
AP courses at schools that serve large populations of low-income
students.
Higher education also suffers under the proposed budget. All student
aid programs are cut, and the Pell Grant maximum remains static.
For middle- and lower-income students, this poses significant problems
as they try to further their education.
Next in the Budget Process
Congress drives the next step in the budget process through the
development of a Budget Resolution. The House and the Senate Budget
Committees each develop their own version of this non-binding resolution,
which outlines congressional spending priorities for the coming
year. The Budget Resolution includes one binding component: the
total amount of money that will be available to fund all federal
agencies.
The two chambers were not able to agree on a Budget Resolution
in the last Congress. With the upcoming election and all the politicking
going on in Washington and beyond, Washington budget “gurus”
have speculated that Congress may not reach agreement again this
year. When no agreement can be reached, generally a dollar amount
is given to each of the 13 appropriations subcommittees with no
guidance on how to prioritize spending.
LDA will be monitoring the budget process closely and keep you
informed as the House and Senate take action. With a short legislative
year ahead due to the upcoming elections, Congress will probably
spend much of the next two months working on passage of a budget
for the next fiscal year. |
