Question

Why is education spending one of the first areas the state legislature cuts when faced with a budget crisis? What are the effects of cutting spending?

Answer 1

Answer:-

A budget deficit occurs when a government spending is greater than tax revenues. This leads to an accumulation of public sector debt. If the deficits are unsustainable, this can cause rising bond yields (higher interest payments) and in the worse case, lead to a loss of confidence in the government. Though this is quite rare for countries with their own currency.

The obvious way to reduce a budget deficit is to increase tax rates and cut government spending. However, the difficulty is that this fiscal tightening can cause lower economic growth – which in turn can cause a higher cyclical deficit (government get less tax revenue in a recession). The best way to reduce fiscal deficits depends on the situation a country is in.

Evaluation of Cutting Government spending

• It depends on the type of government spending you cut. If you cut Education spending this can reduce spending with less impact on economic growth – but it will be at the cost of increased disparity in society.

** Budget cuts in education leads to a worse educational system. The exact effects will depend on the Board of Education. They must decide what areas of the budget will be cut. These cuts can impact schools/colleges in a number of ways:

· Budget cuts can lead directly to teacher layoffs. The vast majority of a district’s budget goes to payroll, and the largest group on payroll is classroom teachers. Eliminating teachers will lead directly to larger class sizes.

· Budget cuts can lead to a reduction in support professionals. Instead of reducing classroom teachers and increasing class sizes, districts will often cut back on positions like media center specialists, guidance counsellors, school psychologists, and other professionals who play a supportive role in the school/colleges.

· Budget cuts can lead to privatization of non-certified support services.

· Budget cuts can lead to a reduction in sports and performing arts. Sports teams require a lot of equipment as well as large budgets for transportation. Track and field requires hefty fees for entering meets. Likewise, bands and orchestras require equipment, transportation budgets, and tournament fees.

· Budget cuts can lead to continued use of old books and to lower supplies of textbooks.

· Budget cuts can lead to a reduction in class trips and activities.

· Budget cuts can lead to a reduction in professional development. The district may stop paying consultants to provide training for teachers, and it may cut back on sending teachers to professional conferences.