Federal Education Budget Proposed
Copies of the U.S. Government budget for Fiscal Year 2012
The Obama administration this week released its spending proposal for the fiscal year of 2012, according to an article on EdWeek. The administration is asking for $77.4 billion in education funding, a 4 percent increase from 2010 funding.
The Obama administration proposal follows the Feb. 10th proposal of House Republicans to cut education funding by $4.9 billion for 2011. The Republican proposal would cut Title I funding by $693.5 million, and would cut special education funding by $557 million from its 2010 budget of $11.5 billion. The Head Start program, which provides resources and education to disadvantaged pre-school children, would face the largest reduction, a cut of $1 billion. The Republican proposal would also cut funding to many smaller literacy and education programs.
President Obama recognizes the need to reduce federal spending, but said “education is an investment that we need to win the future.” The proposal put forth by the Obama administration seeks to increase funding for Title I and special education, which affect school districts across the country. The administration seeks an increase of $300 million for Title I, a reading program for disadvantaged students. It also looks to increase special education funding by $200 million.
The administration repeats a previous proposal “asking Congress to combine 38 programs into 11 broader funding streams.” For example, several smaller programs for improving teacher quality would be combined into a single program. The Obama administration is also asking for funding to continue President Obama’s Race To The Top program, which according to the official website, the US Department of Education is using to “incentivize states to produce measurable student gains,” rewarding schools with funding to implement their plans.
