Clock Ticks Down to Sequestration Deadline
If you’re thinking that sequestration -- across-the-board budget cuts set to take effect today at every federal agency -- doesn’t seem like the most thoughtful course of action for Congress to try and balance its books, you have plenty of company.
“I’ve been at this for 35 years, and this is the most insane thing ever,” said Joel Packer, executive director of theCommittee for Education Funding, a nonpartisan lobbying group representing a diverse range of organizations, including K-12 school districts, higher education, research firms, and coalitions of public employees.
The Atlantic’s Molly Ball has a pithy overview of who’s really to blame for sequestration, and the New York Times has also put out an explainer of how the cuts might be carried out. As I've mentioned previously, there are more questions than answers as to how school districts might choose to make up their budget shortfalls. With personnel costs accounting for at least two-thirds of most district's budgets, it's going to be tough to fill the hole without shedding jobs. And those cuts are likely to hurt the poorest schools, which already depend more on
“I’ve been at this for 35 years, and this is the most insane thing ever,” said Joel Packer, executive director of theCommittee for Education Funding, a nonpartisan lobbying group representing a diverse range of organizations, including K-12 school districts, higher education, research firms, and coalitions of public employees.
The Atlantic’s Molly Ball has a pithy overview of who’s really to blame for sequestration, and the New York Times has also put out an explainer of how the cuts might be carried out. As I've mentioned previously, there are more questions than answers as to how school districts might choose to make up their budget shortfalls. With personnel costs accounting for at least two-thirds of most district's budgets, it's going to be tough to fill the hole without shedding jobs. And those cuts are likely to hurt the poorest schools, which already depend more on
