Originally published Monday, September 1, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Problems multiply as schools forced to subtract from budgets
With mortgage foreclosures throwing hundreds of families out of their homes here each month, dismayed school officials say they are feeling...
The New York Times
TYLER BISSMEYER / NYT
Students eat lunch recently at Crums Lane Elementary School in Louisville, Ky. The school district raised lunch prices this year but reports more students qualify for a free lunch. Officials say they're feeling the effects of mortgage foreclosures as well as cuts in state spending.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With mortgage foreclosures throwing hundreds of families out of their homes here each month, dismayed school officials say they are feeling the upheaval: Record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals.
"We're seeing a lot more children in poverty," said Lauren Roberts, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County school system, a 98,000-student district that includes Louisville and its suburbs.
At the same time, the district is struggling with its own financial problems. Responding to a cut of $43 million by the state in education spending and to higher energy and other costs, school officials in Jefferson County have raised lunch prices, eliminated 17 buses by reorganizing routes, ordered drivers to turn off vehicles rather than letting them idle and increased property taxes.
As 50 million children return to classes across the nation, crippling increases in the price of fuel and food, coupled with the economic downturn, have left schools from California to Florida to Maine cutting costs. Some are trimming bus service, others are restricting travel, and a few are shortening the school week.
"We're in a recession"
"The big national picture is that food and fuel costs are going up, and school revenues are not," said Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association. "We're in a recession, and it's having a dramatic impact on schools."
Louisville's pain is minor compared with the woes of some cities. Detroit has laid off at least 700 teachers, Los Angeles 500 administrators and Miami-Dade County hundreds of school psychologists, maintenance workers and custodians.
Districts in California and Ohio have eliminated bus service either completely or for high schools. In Maine, officials worried about the cost of heating their classrooms this winter have restricted travel for field trips to save money. Districts in Louisiana, Minnesota and elsewhere have taken a more radical measure and adopted four-day school weeks. Hundreds of districts, responding to higher food prices, are charging more for cafeteria meals.
West Virginia officials issued a memorandum recently to local districts titled "Tips to Deal With the Skyrocketing Cost of Fuel." Last week, David Pauley, the transportation supervisor for the Kanawha County school system, based in Charleston, met with drivers of the district's 196 buses to outline those policies. Pauley told them to stay 5 miles an hour below the limit, to check the tire pressure every day and to avoid jack-rabbit starts.
Ballooning deficits
The problems in many districts can be traced to battered state budgets. According to a July report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 31 states had budget gaps totaling $40 billion, and many had cut school financing.
California still has a $15.2 billion budget gap, although many districts there have made cuts, including Los Angeles Unified, which sliced $400 million from its $6 billion budget in June partly by laying off 500 administrators and secretaries, though no teachers.
![]()
The number of students whose family's income qualifies them for subsidized meals is up, too.
Under the National School Lunch Program, children in a family of four whose parents earn no more than $39,220 a year qualify for a subsidized 30-cent breakfast and 40-cent lunch. If the parents earn no more than $27,560, the children qualify for free meals.
Nationally, 14.9 million students qualified for free lunches last year, according to data from the Agriculture Department; the Bush administration's budget estimates that an additional 283,000 students will be eligible this year.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More Nation & World headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Ousted Honduras leader blocked from return by air
Pakistan attack targets nuclear lab workers
Nuclear-arms control heads Obama's Moscow agenda
Jackson worth $100M more than he owed?
Israel free to set own Iran path, Biden says

2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Tax tips for new independent professionals
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new SUV? Weigh the impact your choice will have on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
- Shooting unveils very different sides of McNair
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Quincy Jones remembers "the biggest entertainer on the planet": Michael Jackson
- Confessions of an Idol Addict | "American Idols" on tour: Live coverage from opening date
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/05 game thread
247 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
178 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
137 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
126 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
113 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
103 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
101 - Anti-tax rally in Olympia attracts about 1,500
68 - Mariners did their part, now they need help
46 - Megachurch pastor Rick Warren addresses US Muslims
36
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- The People's Pharmacy | Estrogen mimicker found in sunscreen
- Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
- Toyota's Toyoda scolds execs for emulating U.S. car companies' mistakes
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Outdoor-theater season kicks off at Volunteer Park
- Seattle safety project: A snake shelter on Beacon Hill








