The faltering U.S. economy has put an end to a decade of budgetary good times for schools, with the recession opening a $40 billion hole in many states' general funds on which schools rely heavily, reports Daniel Wood in The Christian Science Monitor. Among the hardest-hit states are New York, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, and California, where Gov. Gray Davis announced a $850 million cut to public education last week. Belt-tightening moves by districts in these states include laying off teachers, curtailing textbook and other purchases, raising class sizes, postponing repairs, and scaling back teacher training. While the $26.5 billion education reform law signed by President Bush last Tuesday will provide some relief, those funds are largely earmarked for specific purposes like testing and literacy - and implementing the new accountability regime could cost more than Washington will provide. For details see "Recession saps school budgets," by Daniel Wood, The Christian Science Monitor, January 10, 2002.
