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AEP Online |
Blaschke on Federal FundingIn the FY 2003 Education Appropriation, Sales Opportunities in Title I and 'Pork'Late last month, Congress finally passed and President Bush signed the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act. The $3.2 billion K-12 increase was weighted heavily toward the Title I and IDEA/Special Education programs, which jumped about $1.4 billion each. While the 13 percent increase in Title I state grants is less than in FY 2002--when those grants grew more than 20 percent--it is larger than the increase of $1 billion proposed by the administration. The 16 percent increase in IDEA state funding brings the federal share of special education's estimated $78 billion yearly total to about 18 percent, still far less than the 40 percent authorized by Congress when IDEA's predecessor was passed in the mid-1970s. Though the next school year’s sales opportunities and timing will be similar to this year’s, there will be some important differences--in the types of districts to target, and when to target them. Of the $13.8 billion for Title I, $9 billion will be “advanced funding,” which means that only about $4.8 billion will be allocated to states and, in turn, to districts in July 2003. The remaining $9 billion will not be allocated to states until mid-October 2003, with districts allocated their portions one to three months later. All of the $1.4 billion increase falls under the two new “targeted” and “incentives” grant components that were added to the Title I formula last year. Because these formula components are advanced funded, none of increases will be allocated to districts until after October 2003. Assuming that the U.S. Education Department follows the same procedures it used last year, all of the July allocation will come from the “basic” grant. Those districts receiving increases in the other three components will receive, in July, a much smaller percentage of their total allocation. While the districts that received increases this school year are likely to get the largest increases next year, they actually will likely purchase most products in November through February. These should be first-priority targets. However, some of these districts also could engage in an earlier purchasing cycle, from April through June 2003. As the chart below shows, Reading First state grants received a $100 million increase, to $1 billion, while funding levels for the remainder of programs now authorized under Title I--including Early Reading First, Migrant Education, Neglected and Delinquent, and Comprehensive School Reform Demonstrations--generally stayed level. There also could be unique sales opportunities in some “earmarks,” otherwise known as pork barrel spending. Several hundreds of million dollars in earmarks are hidden away in the House-Senate Conference reports and in accompanying appropriations documents; almost two-thirds of these fund some education technology-related projects or initiatives. While some of these earmarked projects include the names of nonprofit and for-profit firms (e.g., U.S. Dream Academy and Voyager Expanded Learning, respectively), in many cases, it appears that funds will be allocated to selected districts for “technology enhancement.” Many of these projects are located in states with senators or representatives on the appropriations committees, and many are located in southeastern states, including Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana. And of course, just as last year, some of these earmarks obviously benefit the politically connected, including:
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 856-241-7772. |
Click here for a copy of the Conference report. Click here to download a chart of school funding resources. Both of these documents are in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format. |
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