(Host) Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca says there’s no question that the quality of education in Vermont will suffer if school budget cuts that are part of the "Challenges for Change" law are put into place.
That’s why Vilaseca wants to use new federal education stimulus money to offset most of the cuts for a one year period.
But, as VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports, Governor Jim Douglas has a different idea on how the new federal money should be spent.
(Kinzel) Under the Challenges for Change law, the Department of Education was required to establish new spending targets for the 2011school year for every school district in the state.
On average, the reductions amount to a 2 percent cut for most districts.
Education commissioner Armando Vilaseca notes that last year, most local school budgets were level funded. He says imposing a 2 percent cut next year, on top off inflation, means that local budgets will face a roughly 5 percent cut.
He says this goal can’t be achieved without having a negative impact on students – so he wants to use $19 million in new federal education stimulus money to help offset these cuts for a one year period:
(Vilaseca) "My recommendation I don’t have the authority to make this happen but my recommendation would be to use that money as a one year crutch if you will because schools will still have to cut even with this 19 million they’ll still have to cut probably 30 some odd million dollars from their operating budgets."
(Kinzel) Governor Jim Douglas strongly opposes using the new federal money in this way. He says local school boards should cut their budgets now to achieve a sustainable spending path:
(Douglas) "State government’s had to do it businesses have to do it families has to do this is the new reality of the point of the economic cycle that we’re in now these are the kinds of decisions that are made in the real world during this difficult economic time and our school districts can’t be exempt from it."
(Kinzel) But Commissioner Vilaseca says that’s an approach that he can’t support:
(Vilaseca) "As the commissioner of Education my number one priority is what’s in the best interests of the schools and I don’t like having positions where the governor and I are not on the same page I understand where he’s coming from but as my task for looking out for what’s best for kids I do not feel that under the current structure this could be accomplished without impacting students."
(Kinzel) Vilaseca says he still wants local school boards to show how the proposed budget cuts will affect educational services in their communities so that the 2011 Legislature can make an informed decision about how to spend the new federal money.
For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.