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Jay Nixon: Strong Leadership in Tough Budget Times
For Immediate Release: January 20, 2010 Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125 Other States Make Drastic Cuts Governor Jay Nixon is providing strong leadership in tough budget times. By reducing the size of state government and making government more efficient, Gov. Nixon has been able to invest in job creation, health care and K-12 education, and freeze college tuition. And he did it without raising taxes. Meanwhile, other states are facing budget meltdowns leading to drastic cuts to essential services. Other states have been forced to release inmates, cut K-12 education and increase college tuition. Arizona even sold its State Capitol and Governor’s Office. Selling State Capitol Arizona Sold State Legislative Offices and the Governor’s Office. On January 12, 2009, and January 13, 2009, the State of Arizona sold on the public bond market “certificates of participation in a variety of state buildings, including…the tower that houses the Governor's Office” and state legislative offices. “The state retains control of the 14 buildings” it sold, and “will continue to occupy [them] and lease [them] back from investors.” (The Arizona Republic, 01/15/10) Releasing Prison Inmates Illinois Releases 1,700 Inmates. In 2009, “about 1,700 Illinois inmates…were quietly released from Illinois prisons…after serving just weeks or days of their sentences under a controversial cost-cutting program.” Many of them were sentenced for violent offenses and “many of the inmates who were released had violent crimes in their past, including at least 20 who had had murder-related convictions.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/09/10) Minnesota Cuts $66 Million From Corrections, Eliminates Minimum Sentences For Drunk Driving, Some Drug Offenses. In Minnesota, “lawmakers…passed a bill cutting $66 million from the corrections department and also eliminating minimum offenses for felony drunk drivers, some drug offenses, and for predatory offenders who fail to register with authorities.” (www.ncsl.org/?tabid=17240) North Carolina Closes Seven Prisons. “North Carolina's budget problems…[have forced] it to close seven minimum-security prisons.” (The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 09/30/09) Cuts to K-12 Education California Cuts Education Spending By $5.3 Billion. In 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget that reduced “spending for public schools by $5.3 billion,” and that was “on top of nearly $12 billion in earlier cuts to the state’s K-12 and community college systems.” (Education Week, 08/26/09) Georgia Cuts $112 Million From Low-Income School Districts. Georgia, in 2009, slashed “$112 million from the state’s so-called ‘equalization’ funding for public schools in low-income districts.” (The Union-Recorder, 06/13/09) Michigan Cut K-12 Education By $382 Million. Michigan, in 2009, cut funding for public K-12 education by $382 million, which equated to approximately $165 per student. This was a three percent cut relative to the previous fiscal year. (The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 10/09/09) Mississippi Governor Recommends Cutting K-12 Education by 10.9%. In Mississippi, “the Joint Legislative Budget Committee recently revealed its fiscal 2011 budget recommendations, which included cutting about 10 percent from state agencies and about 5.9 percent from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the K-12 funding formula. Gov. Haley Barbour’s fiscal 2011 budget plan calls for reducing MAEP by 10.9 percent.” (The Clarion-Ledger, 12/29/09) Nevada Governor Proposes Cutting K-12 Education by $700 Million. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, in 2009, proposed cutting “nearly $700 million from public schools.” He “suggested about $690 million in cuts to K-12 funding,” but the state legislature “restored about $290 million of those reductions.” (The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 05/06/09, and Reno Gazette-Journal, 05/01/09) Increased Tuition, Cuts to Colleges and Universities California Increases College Tuition Costs By 32%. In November 2009, the governing board of the University of California approved a 32 percent tuition increase, which “will push the cost of an undergraduate education at California’s premier public schools to over $10,000 a year by next fall, about triple the cost of a decade ago.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/20/09) South Carolina Cuts Colleges and Universities by 9%. South Carolina “has slashed the budgets of its colleges and universities twice, for a total of 9 percent, since the new fiscal year began on July 1 [2009]. And those cuts followed a steady decline in state support from the previous year.” (The Post and Courier, 01/11/10) Illinois Cuts College Scholarships by $225 Million. The scholarships, known as Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants, “were put in danger after lawmakers and [Governor Pat] Quinn agreed on a state budget…[in 2008] that cut funding for the $440 million program in half.” However, Governor “Quinn…successfully pushed the Legislature to restore money for…[the] college-scholarship program.” (Chicago Tribune, 10/27/09, and The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 01/13/10) Minnesota Cuts $100 Million in Funding. Governor Tim Pawlenty, in June 2009, cut “$100 million…in funding for state colleges from the state budget” for Fiscal Year 2011, which starts on July 1, 2010. (The Mankato Free Press, 07/25/09, and St. Cloud Times, 08/23/09) Univ. Minnesota Proposes 7.5% Tuition Increase. As a result of a budget shortfall, the “University of Minnesota plans to raise tuition 7.5 percent next year.” (Minnesota Public Radio, 12/10/09) --30--
Jay Nixon: Strong Leadership in Tough Budget Times
