"Gov. Haley Barbour is recommending a 68 percent cut to gifted, special and vo-tech education programs - a move that would result in a loss of $176 million in federal funds"
State Superintendent of Education Tom Burnham said such a cut would take the special ed and vo-tech programs below the minimum funding amounts required for federal support.
The cut is among a recommended $430 million less than fiscal 2010. It is designed to help make up for an estimated $715 million shortfall - $370 million of which state officials plan to make up with stimulus money.
Barbour's proposed budget spells out a recommended cut of 12 percent across the board in K-12 education, but the cut actually would be about 15 percent, House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown said. In contrast, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, suggesting $310 million in cuts, is recommending a 5.9 percent cut for K-12 education and a 10 percent cut for most other agencies.
Barbour's budget is only a proposal; it's the job of lawmakers to craft a budget.
Ike Haynes, superintendent of the struggling Jefferson Davis County School District, said a double-digit cut "would put us in jeopardy of giving back all the progress we've made financially. We'd have to look at laying off teachers."
Barbour recently lifted the state o