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BESE staff outline what 1%–5% state funding cuts would mean for education; early-childhood funding, staffing flagged as highest-risk
Summary
Department of Education staff presented scenarios showing how 1%–5% cuts to the FY24–25 state general fund could be achieved, saying most discretionary reductions (textbook, contracts, admin) cover small shares while deeper cuts would encroach on technology, staffing and early-childhood seats.
At a State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) committee meeting, Department of Education presenter Dr. Brumley walked members through what a 1%–5% reduction to the department's FY24–25 state general fund appropriation would look like, including the specific programs and staff categories that would be affected.
Dr. Brumley said the department was asked by legislators and appropriations staff to model “what a 1% to 5% reduction would look like.” She told the committee the department began from a FY24–25 state general fund appropriation just over $4,000,000,000 and, after backing out nondiscretionary items and legislative line items, identified roughly $28,000,000 as the pool from which discretionary reductions could reasonably be drawn.
The presentation laid out staged steps: at the 1% level the department estimated it could reduce about $2,700,000 through textbook and administrative savings, professional development adjustments, food-and-nutrition efficiencies and trimming professional-services contracts. A 2% scenario would add another $2,700,000 in cuts, largely by further reducing professional services, bringing the total to about $5,400,000. At 3% the department said it would need to begin cutting technology contracts and platforms. Dr. Brumley warned that moving into a 4% reduction would likely require staffing reductions and cuts to early-care-and-education funding, and that a 5% target would fall “strictly from early care and education” seats in the department's modeling.
Dr. Brumley emphasized the constrained starting point. “We can only take from this number,” she said, referring to the roughly $28 million of discretionary funds available after nondiscretionary and legislative items were excluded. She also noted the department's state general fund investment in early care and education is roughly $162,000,000, which the team tried to protect in lower-cut scenarios.
Board members pressed for clarity on workforce trends and outcomes. A member noted the slides showed about 364 K–12 classified employees in 2024 versus more than 1,000 in 2004; Dr. Brumley said that staffing and the transfer of early-care staff from another agency account for much of the historical change and that the department aims to retain field-facing staff where possible.
Dr. Brumley closed by saying the department has submitted initial materials and will continue discussions with the division of administration, the governor's office and legislators as budget talks proceed.
The committee received the presentation; no final policy or allocation changes were adopted during the meeting.
