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As you can see from the image (click to enlarge) in this post, what’s being proposed for the next biennium is flat funding for GPA (General Purpose Aid) to Education. In the current fiscal year, GPA has been $983.5 million, and what’s proposed is $986 million. But wait! Isn’t it a fiction to say that [...] From the short AP story: Gov. John Baldacci is unveiling a two-year state budget that includes plenty of pain for everyone. The $6.1 billion state spending package proposes deep cuts due to the recession and increased cost of providing services. It would eliminate 219 state positions, requiring 139 layoffs. It would trim some state tax [...] that the Governor reveals his plan for the next biennial budget (for the two years beginning July 1). The talk is that we can expect to be down $200 million, using the present biennium as a baseline. Many think this is overly optimistic. We’ll post news on how the proposal affects education when we know [...] That was the title of a recent article in the Kennebec Journal. The legislature’s Appropriations Committee began hearings today on the $140 million “gap” in the current year’s budget. Some solons speak of this occasion as an “opportunity.” Heaven help us! I was reminded again today of Mark Twain’s aphorism: “No man’s life, liberty, or [...] So says Madison Powers at CQ Politics (“Recession Realities: Why The Worst is Yet to Come“, 11/26/08). What caught our eye was his projection of the future of state budgets. At least 41 states face budget shortfalls. In some states, the percentage is quite large, at or above 10% in the hardest hit states. But [...] At the Freakonomics Blog at the NYT: The Big Three and Underfunded Pensions (12/2/08). They point to (and quote from) this abstract (“Public Pensions are Underfunded”)in the NBER Digest. The extent to which public pensions are underfunded has been obscured by governmental accounting rules, which allow pension liabilities to be discounted at expected rates of [...] I don’t understand it all — yet, but here it is: FY 2008-2009 Subsidy Amounts by SAU per Curtailment/Supplemental Budget Proposal Pay attention to column 8; that’s the amount your district’s state subsidy will be reduced — at least. More documents: Commissioners letter, Explanation of Methodology It’s legitimate and necessary to ask what steps your [...] What follows is an excerpt from the much longer (32 pages) Final Impact Sheet released yesterday. This excerpt is of just the curtailments planned for education — so far. Bureau of the Budget’s Curtailment Page. MDOE Commissioner’s Informational letter, “Curtailment Effect on Subsidy” Click on each to enlarge. Click again to enlarge further. [...] It’s really just a formalization of what we knew was coming. And there’s more to come. This is just what the governor can do without the consent of the legislature. State Cuts $80M, Kennebec Journal, 11/20/08 Gov. John Baldacci signed an executive order Wednesday to cut spending by nearly $80 million to help close a [...] I know you’re going to be shocked — shocked! — but you’ll hear it soon enough, so we might as well get it over with. Some people are talking about closing schools. Yes, I know that school consolidation “is not about closing schools.” Yes, we know that there are protections against immediate school closings. Nevertheless, [...] James Stewart as George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” During the go-go investing years, school districts, transit agencies and other government entities were quick to jump into the global economy, hoping for fast gains to cover growing pension costs and budgets without raising taxes. Deals were arranged by armies of persuasive [...] in favor of school consolidation! This may be a season of surprises, but this particular declaration, released on Friday, isn’t one of them. Excerpts follow: It is now no longer up to me or the Governor, or the Legislature to make the case for reorganization. The case has to be made locally – by planning [...] A few days ago (on Tuesday) we looked at consolidation through the eyes of superintendents and RPC members frustrated with the process, the law, and the Maine DOE. We linked to some recent articles and featured a number of quotes from an article in the October 20 Bangor Daily News. Today we look at how [...] Not surprisingly, school budgets are tightening, and tightening fast. Commissioner Gendron late Tuesday issued Informational Letter No. 29, General Purpose Aid in the FY 2010-11 State Budget. In light of the current national economic crisis and its effect and potential effect on state revenues, you are undoubtedly concerned about how state funding for education will [...] In Thursday’s Portland Press Herald, “Despite crisis, state to sell bonds“: Despite the stormy markets and uncertainty about a $700 billion federal bailout, Maine plans to sell $99 million in bonds Friday to raise money to pay for more than a dozen municipal projects, ranging from building schools to buying ambulances. Even as that deal [...] |
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