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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Michael Rebell: Educational Budget Cuts: Unconscionable -- and Unconstitutional

Michael Rebell: Educational Budget Cuts: Unconscionable -- and Unconstitutional:

"This past fall California laid off 20,000 teachers, resulting in average class sizes in Los Angeles high schools of 42.5. Teachers in Hawaii were 'furloughed' and classes canceled for 17 straight Fridays, In Illinois, 30,000 children lost preschool services, bilingual education was cut 25 percent and teacher recruitment in hard-to-staff schools was substantially reduced.

And there's worse to come. Even after plugging budget holes with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds -- intended to stimulate innovation and create opportunities for low-income students -- 39 states now report midyear shortfalls and project additional large gaps for FY2011. New York Governor David Paterson has proposed cutting the base budget by $1.4 billion next year."