Legislative report Governor axes $211
million more from schools By Catherine Shannon, IFT coordinator of
legislative activity for higher educationl. Overall Reductions from FY 02 to FY 03
June 11, 2002 — Gov. George Ryan stripped another $211 million from education funding for FY 2003 in a veto message delivered Monday, June 10. The Governor proposed a $100 million cut from elementary and secondary education and $111 from higher education. The new drop in school funding was contained in a veto list of 300 state budget items totaling $500 million that Ryan says is necessary to balance the stateÕs budget. Gov. Ryan said the new round of cuts are critical as the state faces its worst fiscal crisis in over 50 years. The state is attempting to fill a $1.6 billion budget hole with a combination of funding shifts, new taxes on cigarettes and riverboat casinos, and spending cuts. The General Assembly is meeting in Special Session this week to consider accepting or overriding the GovernorÕs vetoes. It takes a 3/5 vote to restore budget programs that were eliminated and a simple majority to restore funding that was reduced, but not eliminated. The Senate was scheduled to start considering action on each of the 300 veto items Tuesday morning. The House will only be allowed to consider overrides that are passed by the Senate. Gov. Ryan has threatened to demand tax increases from the state House and Senate to offset any veto overrides that raise spending. Higher Education Gov. Ryan slashed an additional $111 million from the FY 2003 higher education budget that was adopted last week. State funding for public universities will be down $142 million or 9 percent from FY 02 appropriations when all cuts — including General Assembly action, the GovernorÕs Vetoes and the cost-shifting of employee health insurance — are added together. In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, IBHE Executive Director Daniel LaVista predicted the budget cuts would result in a combination of faculty and staff layoffs, larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and further tuition hikes. The new round of cuts include:
Elementary & Secondary In last weekÕs adopted budget, local schools were set to receive $110 million less in general state aid under the formula because the state held the foundation level at the same figure, $4,560. Rising local property values and subsequent higher property tax income were to offset lower state aid. With the GovernorÕs veto Monday, an additional $30 million, or 1%, has been cut from state funding support via general state aid (GSA); hold harmless (HH) and average daily attendance block grants (ADA). Also in last weekÕs budget, categorical funding was held at the same dollar level from this year to next year, or 93.5% of projected costs for FY 03. The vetoes drop categoricals by another 3.5%, or $41 million, which means the categorical mandates will be funded at 90% for next year. The Governor eliminated a series of programs like Academic Difficulty, the Academic Early Warning List, Scientific Literacy and Reading Improvement Statewide. His vetoes cut funding for nearly two dozen other programs. Bilingual education was reduced by $2.8 million, or 4.5%. Ê |
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