The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • National

    Justices weigh juveniles' life without parole

  • National

    Leadership changes at the Times

  • National

    Hood suspect earlier came under FBI scrutiny

  • National

    PRUDEN: Fatal reluctance to see evil

  • World

    Envoy: Europe relies on U.S. shield

  • National

    'Anti-vaccine' attitude hampers H1N1 effort

  • Business

    Sinking dollar fuels new gold rush

Home » Culture » Home & Living

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Economy squeezes education budgets

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

Schools face widening deficits

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos
Please stand by, images loading!
  • Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times
Rising foreclosures in Oakton and across Fairfax County and subsequent declining home prices have led to a budget crunch, in which the county's school district may be among the hardest hit.

More Home & Living Stories

  • Active-adult living: Many amenities at Leesburg's Leisure World
  • Charting the market: Demand, supply shift in area
  • Cover story: Households warm to varied fireplaces
  • New in Maryland: Oak Creek in Upper Marlboro

By Gary Emerling

School districts across the region are preparing to cut most nonessential classrooms needs - from bus routes to class trips - as a result of budget deficits created by the troubled national economy.

"It's going to be a daunting task to continue quality education," said Patricia Wirth, who has two grandchildren attending Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax County and is a member of the county council's parent-teacher associations. "It's pretty scary."

The county's roughly 197-school system is expected to be among the hardest-hit in the region, along with Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

School systems across the country are facing similar situations - some with more severe consequences.

The Boston public school system is considering closing schools to save money. Superintendent Carol Johnson is expected this week to present a proposal to the school board about closing or merging schools, and a final decision is expected in October.

In New York's Westchester County, the Mount Vernon school district this summer eliminated 115 jobs and temporarily cut funding for high school sports. Last-minute private donations - including $100,000 from actor Denzel Washington - and reworking the budget saved the fall sports programs but the status of the winter sports remains uncertain.

Parents in Maryland's Anne Arundel County, like others across the country, are again this year being asked to provide schools with staples such as soap and tissue paper.

In Virginia, Fairfax County faces a $430 million budget deficit in fiscal 2010, and the county's budget director has projected a more than 4 percent decrease in revenue next year.

The school board and the county's board of supervisors began holding community meetings last month to gather "feedback, suggestions and comments from the taxpayers about how their money is spent," said school board Chairman Dan Storck.

School board member Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner said officials are hoping to find as much as $200 million in budget savings as part of a top-to-bottom review that aims to keep academic programs and school-safety measures intact amid the coming cuts.

[Get Copyright Permissions] Click here for reprint permissions!
Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

12345Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Please login or register to post a comment

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. KELLNER: New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  3. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  4. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  5. Deer dies after leap into D.C. zoo lion exhibit
More Top Stories »
  1. Court refuses to halt sniper's execution
  2. Federal Reserve opposed as big bank savior by odd allies
  3. House OKs health reform bill
  4. Annandale man killed in hit-and-run
  5. Inside the Beltway

Most Shared

  1. KELLNER: New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'
  2. Deer dies after leap into D.C. zoo lion exhibit
  3. PRUDEN: Fatal reluctance to see evil
  4. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  5. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
More Top Stories »
  1. Defense nominee won't reveal potential conflicts
  2. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  3. 'Fuzzy math' could drive health bill cost higher
  4. Federal Reserve opposed as big bank savior by odd allies
  5. Choosing fantasy or facts

Most Commented

  1. House OKs health reform bill
  2. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  3. Army chief wary of backlash against Muslim soldiers
  4. Health bill faces roadblocks in Senate
  5. EDITORIAL: Mr. Obama, stay away from this wall
More Top Stories »
  1. Lieberman vows probe of Hood rampage
  2. Defense nominee won't reveal potential conflicts
  3. 'Fuzzy math' could drive health bill cost higher
  4. Suspected Fort Hood shooter is awake, talking
  5. Obama: It's Senate's turn on health care

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Question of the day

D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to die by lethal injection tonight. Do you believe in the death penalty?

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    New Vatican constitution released

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    No interest in Johnson

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.