Joel R. Glucksman
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201-896-7095 jglucksman@sh-law.comFirm Insights
Sequester Puts School Districts In Danger of Bankruptcy
Author: Joel R. Glucksman
Date: November 14, 2013
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The federal sequester has created budget constraints for many cities and towns, and this has put many school districts that rely upon municipal funding to maintain operations in danger of bankruptcy. This is particularly true in rural districts that provide education to low-income children.
A recent article in The Huffington Post highlighted the plight of schools in Stilwell, Okla., which is currently unable to make repairs on a school roof that leaks heavily and raises the risk of causing further infrastructure damage to the property. Instead, teachers rely upon buckets to catch the rain, despite the safety risks that wet floors and mold may pose to students. Principal Margaret Carlile told the news source that Oklahoma has cut school spending by 22 percent since 2009, leaving the institution largely reliant upon federal resources, which have been drastically reduced due to the federal budget cuts.
This issue is common across several states, that include Colorado, Tennessee, Kansas, and North Dakota. Some districts lack the funding for books and other resources necessary to meet national Common Core Standards, and others have been forced to consolidate with other institutions, placing further strain on city resources. Tennessee’s Clay County Schools Director Jerry Strong noted that the problems have become so perilous, that the idea of seeking protection under the bankruptcy law is no longer such a far-fetched idea.
“Unfunded mandates, reduction in funding and added requirements has my system on the edge of bankruptcy,” he told the news source.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Riverview Gardens School District recently proposed roughly $3 million in cuts to help it offset the roughly $15 million costs associated with losing its accreditation and having to pay for students to enroll elsewhere. The cuts would come out of several areas, including school technology, facilities, and professional development for teachers.
“I don’t know where we’re at if we don’t get assistance for 2014- to 15,” Enos Moss, finance director for the district, told the Post-Dispatch. “We will be bankrupt.”
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