One of the first lines of cuts at the bottom of the “fiscal cliff” (or one of the first victims of the austerity bomb) will be local public education. Schools that serve poor and English-language learning children receive more federal money, so will be hit the hardest. The cuts would follow efforts in many school districts and states to increase their own contributions to education funding (which has been uniformly hit by lower property values, since schools in all states rely heavily on property taxes for funding).
Mr. Gordon said he found the prospect of federal education cuts particularly troubling after local taxpayers just approved an increase in property tax rates for the first time in 16 years to aid education.
Voters in several other states have also shown support for public schools, by either approving new taxes or rejecting measures that would have diminished education funding.
read: U.S. School Districts, Eyeing Fiscal Crisis, Brace for More Cutbacks – NYTimes.com.