On January 2, 2013, the Lee County school district will experience federal budget cuts of eight percent or more unless Congress intervenes.
These budget cuts will be the result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which mandates reductions in education funding as well as funding for almost every federal program. The overall impact will be $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. For school districts across the nation it will mean more than a $4 billion cut in Fiscal Year 2013. When we estimate the cuts in federal funding for our own school district, we know that the impact will be devastating. These federal cuts will come at a time when our own state and local budgets are being cut, making it difficult to adequately fund education programs here in Lee County.
Given the budget cuts and adjustments our local community has made in recent years, there is simply very little, if anything else, left to cut. Any further cuts in education funding will adversely affect the quality of our education programs and could leave many students unable to successfully compete for college or careers that would provide a standard of living that our children so richly deserve.
As Superintendent of Lee County Schools, I urge each of you to contact our members of Congress, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, and Hal Rogers and encourage them to agree on a funding reduction plan that would preserve investments in education.