Education Week - September 25, 2013 - 22

22 EDUCATION WEEK
n
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.edweek.org
n
Fiscal
Face-Off
The budget uncertainty that
education advocates and school
districts have lived with for the
past two years doesn’t seem likely
to go away anytime soon. The
across-the-board cuts known as
“sequestration” that went into
effect last March are still in place.
And now, a spending showdown
driven by conservative Republicans
in Congress over whether to defund
the president’s landmark healthcare
law means a government
shutdown could be in the offing.
Plus, there’s likely to be yet another
fight in October over raising the
federal debt ceiling. Here’s a handy
guide to what’s happened so far
and what to watch for.
—ALYSON KLEIN
BIG LOSERS FROM
SEQUESTRATION
Title I grants to districts: Loss of
$725.8 million, bringing program to
$13.7 billion
Special education state grants: Loss of
$578.9 million, bringing program to
$10.9 billion
Head Start: Loss of roughly $400 million,
bringing program to $7.6 billion
Impact Aid: Loss of $57.7 million, bringing
program to $1.09 billion
EXEMPT
Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance
Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families, school lunch and school breakfast
programs, student loan programs (except
for a small increase in origination fees),
Pell Grants, among others.
SOURCES: U.S. Department of Education;
Committee for Education Funding; Education Week
U.S. Department
Of Education,
Fiscal Year 2013
overall cut
or
5%
MULTIMEDIA:
$2.5 billion,
or
roughly what’s spent on state
teacher-quality grants.
For an interactive timeline with
links and additional photos, go to
www.edweek.org/go/budget.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER These months are likely to be consumed with fiscal
fights, including one over whether to keep the sequestration cuts in place, such as for
education programs.
SOURCE: Education Week
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, center,
has pushed his GOP colleagues to use
a stopgap budget measure as a chance
to defund the Affordable Care Act,
also known as Obamacare.
President Barack Obama and
Vice President Joe Biden have warned
of dire consequences if a budget impasse
results in a government shutdown.
SUMMER 2011 With the federal government poised to exceed its borrowing
limit, a newly elected, conservative group of House Republicans launch an effort
to rein in the deficit. After a heated battle, Congress hits on a temporary solution:
A bipartisan group of lawmakers would try to come up with a long-term deficit
reduction plan. If they couldn’t do it, a series of across-the-board spending cuts
would go into effect, both for military and domestic programs (including education),
starting in January of 2013. “Sequestration” is born.
NOVEMBER 2011 The lawmakers tasked with trimming $1.5 trillion from the
federal deficit over 10 years fail to reach agreement. Sequestration cuts are set to go
into effect in January of 2013. But everyone, including President Barack Obama, is
confident Congress can come up with a long-term deficit reduction deal to prevent
that from happening.
SUMMER 2012 Worried that Congress might not reach a deal to stop the cuts
in time, the Senate subcommittee overseeing K-12 spending holds its first hearing on
the potential impact of sequestration on education.
JANUARY 2013 A long-term deal still remains elusive. Congress reaches a
temporary agreement to avert the “fiscal cliff”—a series of tax hikes and spending
cuts set to go into effect at midnight on New Year’s Eve. As part of the deal,
implementation of the reductions is delayed until March.
MARCH 2013 The deadline for averting sequestration passes without any deal.
Some programs, such as Head Start and Impact Aid, which helps schools with a
federal presence make up for lost tax revenue, feel the effects quickly. Most school
districts have time to plan, since the cuts wouldn’t hit them until the start of the
2013-14 school year.
AUGUST 2013 School districts largely complete their budgets for the 2013-14
school year. Many try to avert layoffs, by delaying purchases of technology and
classroom materials, and cutting professional development instead. Education
advocates warn that the effects could get worse in coming years.
SEPT. 30, 2013 Fiscal year 2013 is set to end. Congress must complete the
spending bills for fiscal 2014 or pass an extension measure. Otherwise, the
government will shut down.
MID-OCTOBER Congress must again raise the federal debt ceiling, or face yet
another government shutdown threat.
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, is
struggling to forge a budget deal in Congress amid
pressure from conservatives in his own party.
STALEMATE SNAPSHOTS
This fall is hardly the first instance of budget brinksmanship
in recent years.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Charles Dharapak/AP-File
J. Scott Applewhite/AP-File
http://www.edweek.org http://www.edweek.org/go/budget
Education Week - September 25, 2013

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