Commissioner's Newsletter
DATE: April 17, 2003
TO: School Administrators
FROM: D. Kent King
RE: Estimated Reductions in State Aid for 2003-04
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to approve today proposed reductions of $337 million from the amounts recommended by Governor Holden for Fiscal Year 2004 (FY04). The proposed reductions in aid for Basic Formula, Line 14, transportation, gifted and remedial reading total $304 million.
Significant reductions also have been proposed in funding for MAP testing, the A+ Schools program, technology and Safe Schools grants, career ladder and Parents as Teachers, as well as in the Department’s operating expenses.
We have prepared a simulation to show the approximate impact of the proposed reductions on aid for Basic Formula, Line 14, transportation, gifted and remedial reading in each school district.
For each area, there is a column simulating the distribution of FYO3 funds as if there had been no withholdings during the current year; a column projecting the amounts for FY04 based on each district’s current year (FY03) data factors; and a column showing the difference between the two years. The numbers provided in this report are projections; they do not reflect the actual amounts that any district will receive in 2003-04.
The budget figures recommended by the Senate Appropriations Committee are still subject to final approval by the full Senate and then by the House. We will do our best to keep you posted on the fast-moving budget negotiations.