Edujobs Funding for Louisiana Teachers at Risk

Last week we reported on the $10 billion education jobs funding passed by Congress.  This week, just as states are beginning submit their applications, word is going around that Louisiana may not qualify for its $147 million share.  The problem lies in the “Maintenance of Effort” (MOE) provision of the bill, which is designed to ensure that states keep their education funding at or above their levels in recent years, instead of cutting education and using the money for other purposes.

Under the MOE provision, a state must meet one of three requirements regarding education Fiscal Year 2011 spending levels:

• The state must maintain K-12 funding and higher education funding at or above their respective Fiscal Year 2009 levels; or
• The state must maintain K-12 funding and higher education funding at percentages of total state revenues that are at or above their respective percentages of total Fiscal Year 2010 state revenues; or
• For a state in which 2009 tax collections were less than those in 2006, the state must maintain K-12 funding and higher education funding at or above their respective FY 2006 levels by either of the two measures above, namely a) at or above 2006 levels of actual funding, or b) at percentages at or above their percentages of total FY 2006 state revenues.

The problem in Louisiana is that higher education funding has been cut significantly in recent years, and state officials are concerned that current higher education funding may fall below each of the thresholds allowed by the MOE provision.  Last year’s State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program had a similar MOE requirement, but Louisiana was allowed to combine K-12 and higher education funding to qualify.  Added together, Louisiana spent enough on education last year to qualify for the SFSF funds.  Under this new legislation, K-12 and higher education funding must be considered, and must meet the MOE requirements, separately.  Our decline in higher education funding could be a problem.

State and federal officials are currently examining Louisiana’s education finances and evaluating what degree of flexibility the law gives the U.S. Department of Education in judging states’ applications.  While the outcome is still very uncertain, we hope the officials can find a way to resolve this issue, and quickly.  The school year has started, and $147 million is a lot to leave on the table when it could be out in our school districts supporting teachers and students.  It would be a shame to allow the state’s faltering support for higher education to undermine K-12 education too.