Nation’s School Districts to Lose hundreds of millions if lawmakers go Ryan’s Way
By Kyle Stokes
StateImpact.npr.org
September 5, 2012
click here for original article
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s selection of U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as his running mate has spurred a lot of discussion about what the federal budget might look like if the Republicans were to take back the White House and U.S. Senate.
Since Ryan’s proposed budget called for deep cuts in spending — including a 20 percent cut on “discretionary” programs (that includes education) — Ed Money Watch has run some numbers on how much a 20 percent cut in federal schools funding would affect revenues in the nation’s school districts.
If cuts like those called for in the Ryan plan were to pass, Indiana districts would lose a grand total of $280 million in federal revenues. But no single Indiana district would lose more than 6 percent of their total revenues.
In terms of total dollars lost, Indiana’s urban districts would hurt the most from the cuts:
- Indianapolis Public Schools, the state’s largest district, would lose $32 million (4.5 percent of total revenue)
- Fort Wayne Community Schools would lose $10 million (2.8 percent of total revenue)
- South Bend Community Schools would lose $9 million (2.7 percent of total revenue)
- Evansville Vanderburgh Schools would lose $8 million (3.0 percent of total revenue)
- Wayne Township Schools would lose $7 million (2.8 percent of total revenue)
- Gary Community Schools would lose $6 million (3.5 percent of total revenue)
Only 28 other districts nationwide would see a larger loss than IPS in total dollar terms if such a cut were to pass. But IPS’s hit would pale in comparison to the $409 million New York City Schools would lose, or a $244 million cut to the Chicago Public Schools.
But as a percentage of a district’s total revenues, the hardest hit Indiana districts would be in rural areas.
- DeKalb County Eastern Community Schools, just north of Fort Wayne, would lose more than $1.8 million — roughly 5.6 percent of the districts’ total revenue.
- West Central Schools in Pulaski County would lose $796,000, about 5.2 percent of total revenue.
- Frankfort Community Schools would lose $1.8 million, about 4.6 percent of total revenue.
- Mississinewa Community Schools would lose $1.2 million, about 4.3 percent of total revenue.
- Crawfordsville Community Schools would lose $1.3 million, about 3.8 percent of total revenue.
The average Indiana district relies on the federal government for about 8.5 percent of its revenues and would lose about $960,000 under a 20 percent federal spending cut.
20 of Indiana’s 292 school districts receive more than 15 percent of their revenue from federal sources.
