Ask SSC . . .
Do You Know How State Budget Cuts Would Affect Our District?
Q. The faculty union is asking, “For every one billion dollars cut from the State Budget, would that equal approximately $3.5 million from our budget?” My answer would be that there are too many areas the state could cut to come up with an estimated amount. Do you have a better answer?
A. One way to think of budget cuts to education is the way your union has suggested, i.e., “what percentage of the education budget is attributable to our district and what is our district’s ratable share of the loss?” But there are other ways to think of this question that may have more practical value.
If, for example, the state cut the education budget by one billion dollars, we doubt that the cuts would be immediately directed toward school districts on a per-pupil basis. More likely, as in the past, some of the cut would be absorbed at the state level from prior-year carryovers, unspent funds, and unapportioned balances. The remainder of the cut could be targeted toward specific programs, then possibly a general reduction in categorical funding, perhaps followed by a reduction to the base apportionment or per-FTES funding. But the combinations of ways in which a cut could be implemented are limitless, so we would never attempt to guess which ones the state might choose or in what order.
Also, when midyear cuts are proposed, there is often an opportunity for discussion of ways to lessen the impact of the cut. Along with various flexibility measures might come the opportunity for a second layoff window, reductions in categorical program requirements, or deferral of some programs. So, while it may be helpful to think of a cut as reducing per-student funding by a certain amount, it is unlikely that, practically speaking, the cut would be implemented that way. We hope this helps.
—Ron Bennett