Sequestration Cuts to Hit Low Income, Special Needs Students

While the Washington politicians are busy posturing over the looming cuts that will take effect on Friday if the budget sequester bill is not averted local school officials are busy waiting for more details from state officials.

In Berkeley County low income students and those with special needs could bear the brunt of the 5.1 percent across-the-board cuts totaling as much as $1.8 million, according to a statement issued by the Berkeley County School District.

The statement reads as follows:

Not knowing exactly which programs will be ultimately impacted by the scheduled federal sequestration but based on the anticipated 5.1 percent across-the-board cuts to all non-defense discretionary budgets, Berkeley County School District (BCSD) could experience budgetary cuts ranging from $1.2 million to $1.8 million in the first year. 

The BCSD programs that would be most impacted include those administered with Title One, IDEA, and Head Start funds.  The cuts would cause the district to reduce these current programs and therefore negatively impact services for low income children and children with special needs. 

The programs involved are administered according to specific spending rules that could impair a state’s ability to manage these cuts.  The district would seek relief from those requirements, if it was available.

South Carolina Department of Education spokesperson Jay Ragley appeared on WIS TV in Columbia recently to discuss the potential impacts the budget sequester could have on South Carolina schools. He focused on cuts to Title 1 funding that will be felt across the state primarily at schools with high proportions of students living in poverty.