Board approves resolution denouncing Sequestration

Board approves resolution denouncing Sequestration
School board members unanimously approved a resolution urging Congress and the administration to avoid sequestration by amending both the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act. This move was taken to help mitigate drastic cuts to education sequestration would cause across America.

RESOLUTION # 04-2013__
February 19, 2013  

Sequestration and Federal Funding for Education

WHEREAS, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was amended by the American Taxpayer
Relief Act, which includes provisions to impose more than $1.1
trillion in across-the-board budget cuts to almost all federal programs including education that would become effective March 1, 2013; and

WHEREAS, these across-the-board budget cuts, also known as sequestration, would impact education by a reduction in funds of an estimated 5.1 percent or more and could result in larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, possible four-day school weeks, loss of extracurricular activities, and teacher and staff lay-offs in federally funded Title I and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) special education positions; and

WHEREAS, sequestration would impact almost every public school system in the nation and the millions of students educated through programs such as Title I grants for disadvantaged students, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), English Language Acquisition, Career and Technical Education, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and more; and

WHEREAS, Walla Walla School District No. 140, as well as other public schools throughout the nation, would be impacted nationwide by an estimated $2 billion loss from just three programs alone – Title I grants, IDEA special education state grants and Head Start –
that serve a combined 30.7 million children; and

WHEREAS, federal funding for K-12 programs was already reduced by more than $835 million in Fiscal Year 2011, and state and local funding for education continues to be impacted by budget cuts and lower local property tax revenues; and

WHEREAS, states and local governments have very limited capacity to absorb further budget cuts from sequestration, as Walla Walla School District No. 140 has already implemented cuts commensurate to state and local budget conditions;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Walla Walla School District No. 140
urges Congress and the Administration to amend both the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act to mitigate the drastic cuts to education that would affect our students and communities, and to protect education as an investment critical to economic stability and American competitiveness.