South Carolina Scrambles to Spend Funds for Special Education (SC)
June 23, 2011
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/&g t;
&#x 0A;
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
&#x 09;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Trying to head off the 11th-hour loss of more than $100 million a
year in federal money, S.C. schools Superintendent Mick Zais plans to send $75
million to local school districts by June 30 to spend on special education.
The state is at risk of losing the
federal money because the U.S. Department of Education says South Carolina has
not spent enough on special education in the past three years. During that
period, lower tax collections resulted in lower spending in many state
programs, including special education.
The federal agency says it will
penalize the state for under-spending on special education by withholding $111
million a year in federal special-education money: $75 million because the
state did not spend enough in its current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and
$36 million for not spending enough in the fiscal year that ended June 30,
2010.
That $111 million penalty would wipe
out two-thirds of the $183 million that the state gets each year from the
federal government to pay for special-education services.
To avoid the $75 million portion of
the penalty, Zais hopes to give $75 million to school districts by June 30 to
spend on special-education students and services. That spending could include
salaries for special-education teachers, physical therapy for students and
classroom supplies.
All S.C. districts will get some of
the money, based on the number of special-needs students they have.
How can the state come up with $75
million before the month is out?
According to the state Department of
Education and the Office on the State Budget:
About $20 million would come from
the Education Improvement Act trust fund, supported by the extra
penny-on-the-dollar sales tax that S.C. shoppers pay to support education. The
money is available because sales-tax collections have been higher than expected
in recent months.
A legislative committee voted
Wednesday to recommend $20 million in Improvement Act money go toward special
education. However, before June 30, Gov. Nikki Haley and the four other members
of the state Budget and Control Board also must give final approval to
releasing the money.
Haley’s office indicated she likely
will vote in favor of releasing the money, even though she thinks the federal
special education funding requirement is wrong and the state cannot affo rd it.
“If we don’t take care of it, it will end up costing our state millions of
dollars in the long run,” said Rob Godfrey, Haley’s spokesman.
The remaining $55 million will be
squeezed from the state Department of Education.
Zais said that is possible because
the General Assembly recently gave his department additional flexibility in how
it can spend Improvement Act money. In recent months, the agency also has
benefited from lower-than-anticipated fuel prices, saving money on the
statewide bus system that the Education Department runs. Also, school districts
were given legislative permission to not make up “snow days” this
past winter, saving the state even more money on running buses.
“It is going to create a crunch
(at the state Department of Education) during the next couple of months in
terms of cash flow,” said J.W. Ragley, Education Department spokesman.
“We’ll have to watch every dime.”
Assuming the Budget and Control
Board signs off on giving $75 million more to special education, there still is
the $36 million penalty to worry about. The U.S. Department of Education plans
to withhold that amount from the state annually, going forward, for its failure
to spend enough on special education last fiscal year.
Zais said his office is working to
get that penalty reversed. “Our department will appeal this decision and
seek all legal remedies.”
What went wrong?
At Wednesday’s legislative committee
meeting on the issue, lawmakers q uizzed Zais about why he and his department
did not move sooner.
“If you had an idea (this would
happen), why didn’t we include (a request for the money) in the normal budget
process instead of having a train wreck at the 11th hour?” state Rep.
Brian White, R-Anderson, incoming chairman of the House’s budget-writing
committee, asked Zais. “I don’t understand why you didn’t put in a request
earlier.”
Zais said he has been talking with
the governor’s office and legislative leaders since February, letting them know
about the issue. Zais said he only got word at 3 p.m. last Friday that the
federal Education Department agency would not give the state a waiver for
failing to adequately fund special education.
A new state budget rule is intended
to prevent future last-minute maneuverings. It requires the state Department of
Education to inform the governor and General Assembly each year by D ec. 1 of
the amount of money that the state must spend to receive its federal money for
special education.
Others say the state Education
Department did not move fast enough.
“The state Department of
Education knew this was coming down. They knew this was going to happen. Why
now it there such a sense of urgency?” said Kathy Maness, director of the
Palmetto State Teachers Association, an education group that advocates for
teachers.
“We definitely have to have more money to
help these children. It costs more to educate them, and our state needs to do
everything possible to get that money,” said Maness. “Many of these
students need one-on-one help.”