Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families responded this week to a projected loss of $18.8 million next school year for Arkansas schools as a result of federal sequestration.
The cuts in federal money for programs for low-income children hit districts at the same time that state lawmakers decided against increasing the funding level for a state program that also helps low-income children, said Jerri Derlikowski, Arkansas Advocates’ director of education policy and finance.
“With both of those programs taking a hit, we had our alarms raised,” Derlikowski said. “Our low-income students need these programs. We want to work toward reducing the achievement gap. We’re concerned we won’t move forward with reducing the achievement gap.”
In 2012, 73 percent of low-income students earned proficient or advanced scores on state literacy tests, compared with 79.4 percent of all students statewide. A similar gap exists in math, with 70.8 percent of low-income children earning proficient or advanced scores on state math tests, compared with 77.7 percent of all students.
Children of poor families often do not have the same opportunities to learn outside the classroom as their peers from wealthier families who take family vacations or canpay entrance fees to museums and zoos, Derlikowski said.
Sequestration was a bipartisan compromise reached in 2011. It mandated deep cuts to military spending and an array of other federal programs, including education programs, if an overall budget deal couldn’t be reached. Budget negotiations collapsed, and, after a two-month deal expired at the beginning of March, the cuts took effect.
In 2012, Arkansas received $351.1 million in federal funding for elementary and secondary education programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education. With the cuts from sequestration, the department estimates Arkansas’ allocation of federalmoney for elementary and secondary education will drop to $332.3 million in 2013 and to $327.9 million in 2014.
More than 40 percent of the money the state receives from the U.S. Department of Education goes toward programs for low-income students, including Title I programs, according to the department. Roughly 35 percent goes toward special education programs. Title I money must go toward supplementing the education of struggling students; it can pay for software, high-tech devices, curriculum materials and staff hired intended to help struggling students.
The state distributes that money to school districts.
School districts across the state received preliminary projections at the end of April on the impact of federal sequestration on their budgets, but those numbers are not final, said Richard Abernathy, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. The impact of sequestration for the 2013-14 school year will vary by district, Abernathy said. Some districts have set aside money to offset the loss of federal money for at least a year. Other districts will find other sources of revenue to continue programs. Some districts will have to cut back.
“They may limp along for this next year,” Abernathy said.
If funding is not restored, he anticipates that school districts will cut programs, staff or services in the 2014-15school year, he said.
Fort Smith Superintendent Benny Gooden anticipates weathering a loss of up to $1 million next school year in federal money for education programs, he said. In 2012-13, the district budget of $137.74 million included $20.1 million in revenue from the federal government.
The loss likely will result in some positions going unfilled, Gooden said. He does not anticipate laying off any staff, he said.
“You always look and see if you can get a better result with fewer dollars,” Gooden said. “We will try to cut things that have the least effect on the end result and that’s the classroom.”
Gooden expects that Fort Smith Schools will receive $300,000 less in federal money for special education programs and $400,000 less for federal Title I programs aimed at low-income children, hesaid. District officials also are preparing for reduced funding for other smaller federal programs, Gooden said.
Special education programs are mandated by the federal government, and the district will pay for those services out of its operating budget, Gooden said. District officials anticipated sequestration and set aside National School Lunch Act state funding to continue the programs for low-income children.
“We can’t do that indefinitely,” Gooden said. “We can cover it for this coming year.”
The National School Lunch Act that is part of the state budget for public education is not a school-lunch program, but to provide extra services for poorer students such as before- and after-school programs and remediation. The money is provided to school districts in addition to the amount the receive in foundation funding, which providesthe bulk of state funding for schools.
The total state allocation for National School Lunch Act program will rise to $200.3 million from $193.9 million in this year’s Arkansas Department of Education budget. But because the number of students is expected to increase, districts will receive the same amount per student as they did this school year, Derlikowski said.
Abernathy said state rules for the use of National School Lunch Act money are overly broad, but he doesn’t think the Legislature should restrict use to programs that benefit only children of low-income families. Programs that benefit all students would benefit low-income children.
“These funds should be spent on struggling learners,” Abernathy said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 05/25/2013