Riley: Budget Cuts Threaten Poor Students

Uncertainty about how much Congress will spend to help low-income students could prompt 50,000 teacher layoffs, the Clinton administration asserted Thursday. Republicans said that was just scare talk.

Education Secretary Richard Riley denounced cuts proposed for the Title I program, which provides financial help to more than 50,000 schools in poor communities.

A temporary spending measure, which Congress passed to keep the government running through March 15, includes a 17 percent cut in Title I.

If the same size cut is applied to the rest of the fiscal year, the program would lose $1.1 billion - which could mean pink slips to 40,000 to 50,000 teachers and teachers aides, Riley said.

“That course represents a stealth cut, and a retreat from our responsibility to improve America’s education,” Riley said.

A Spokane School District official said a 17 percent cut would mean a loss of $816,000, eliminating services for 700 children and causing layoffs for 16 teachers. Other districts in the area also would be affected. East Valley, for example, would lose $100,000 and three teachers.

Republicans question the effectiveness of the program and claim $489 million in Title I funds went in fiscal 1994 to wealthier counties where the per capita income ranged from $24,000 to $49,000.