5¢ Makes Sense

Yet we can’t run businesses, schools and universities, or the public sector if our children don’t grow into adults equipped with the tools they need to succeed.

In a time of tight budgets, 23 states are on track to provide less formula funding in 2017 than they did ten years ago, cutting the largest source of support for elementary and secondary education. Yet federal elementary and secondary education funding is still below the 2008 level even though public school enrollment has increased by 2.3 percent over those ten years.

A budget should reflect our values, yet only about 2 percent of the federal budget is for education. Education programs have already been the target of deep cuts; Congress has eliminated 50 education programs since 2010. In fact, current funding for the Department of Education is still below what it was 7years ago, excluding the Pell Grant program.

Yet Head Start, the largest federal early childhood education program, is so underfunded that it can serve only 4 out of every 10 eligible children from low-income families.

Yet federal student aid has failed to keep pace with inflation, never mind the rate at which college costs have increased in recent years. Increases in federal student aid programs allow low-income students to receive more grant aid to help them enter and finish their degree faster without borrowing more and graduating with more debt.

In return, the federal government pledged to cover up to 40% of the additional cost associated with educating students with disabilities. Sadly, the federal share has never reached even half of that commitment — reaching an all-time high of 18% through annual appropriations in 2005 — and currently only covers 16% of the additional cost associated with educating students with disabilities.