Ga. hopes stimulus will ease school cuts

State lawmakers want to use federal stimulus money they don’t have yet to ease school funding cuts over the next few months.

House budget writers are expected to pass a spending plan this morning that contains more than $2 billion in overall cuts.

Lawmakers are putting together an $18.9 billion spending plan in what state officials have called the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression.

State documents show about 25,000 state employees have either taken or will be required to take days off without pay through the end of the fiscal year. That’s about one-quarter of the state work force.

On Tuesday, an education subcommittee recommended the state use $145 million in federal stimulus money to keep funds flowing to public schools.

Without the stimulus money, schools would face about $280 million in state aid cuts in fiscal 2009, which ends June 30.

Schools had been anticipating a 2 percent reduction in state funding for months. However, Gov. Sonny Perdue recommended $50 million in additional cuts in January, and then tacked on $95 million more last week because of the continued slowdown in state tax collections.

Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), chairman of the education budget subcommittee, said lawmakers want to avoid making those extra cuts to school budgets.

“What we’re simply saying is we want the governor, as a starting point, to replace that money” with stimulus funds, Lindsey said. “We think that’s a good starting point.

“Obviously, if there is additional money available, we should look at that as well,” said Lindsey.

Overall, Georgia is set to receive more than $2.27 billion in stimulus money over the next few years for education, according to figures provided by the U.S. Department of Education. That includes money for low-income schools, special education, and child care grants, as well as direct aid to the state.

The stimulus bill includes a state fiscal-stabilization fund, which is intended to help avoid or reverse layoffs and make up for budget cuts in education and other programs.

However, state officials aren’t exactly sure when the education stimulus money will begin flowing.

Perdue is planning on extra Medicaid money this fiscal year. But the governor hadn’t put any stimulus money in the mid-year, fiscal 2009 budget for education.

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox may get some answers today. She is scheduled to be in Washington to get details on how the economic stimulus program might affect Georgia.

Perdue’s spokesman, Bert Brantley, said the administration won’t count on those dollars this fiscal year until it knows they are coming soon.

“If there is money available that we can use in fiscal ‘09, we will look at it.

“As we stand today, we don’t know of additional money that’s going to be available in ‘09.”

If the state doesn’t get the money this fiscal year and lawmakers include it in the budget, Perdue would likely be forced to veto the spending or use the state’s reserves to cover the difference.

The House subcommittee handling the University System budget passed a plan that calls for nearly $200 million in reductions for resident instruction. That’s about what Perdue recommended.

After the House Appropriations Committee passes the budget plan today, the full House is expected to vote on it Thursday. Then it will be the Senate’s turn.

$2.27 billion: Stimulus money Georgia is expected to get for education

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