August 7, 2012 American Association of School Administrators

 Congressional Context  How did we get here?  What is it?  What does it mean?  Talking Points  What can I do?  Resources

Source: National Journal, Field Guide to a Lame Duck, July 2012

 Stems from Debt Ceiling Debate, Summer 2011  Resulted in Budget Control Act which, among other things, created bipartisan, bicameral Joint Deficit Commission  12 member committee tasked with identifying $1.2 trillion in cuts/savings over 10 years  Failed to produce plan, triggering sequestration

 Sequestration = automatic, across-the-board cuts  Process ‘triggered’ in Jan. 2012, cuts will come Jan  Impacts almost all aspects of federal budget; ALL programs in USED except Pell  Initial CBO estimates placed sequestration cuts at 7.8%; more likely to be at 9.1%

Source: Bipartisan Policy Center

 FY13 Timeline poses challenges!  Cuts would come in the middle of the fiscal year (July 2013 for schools, impacting the school year)  Cuts will happen regardless of what Congress appropriates  Dearth of information. Cuts come at the ‘program/project/activity’ level, a term that is largely undefined by departments.  Across-the-board cuts are problematic for many PPAs. As would be the case in education, most PPA accounts are nearly all personnel costs, and many include/would impact large procurement/construction projects  Unintended Costs/Consequences  Jobs, Jobs, Jobs  Increased per-unit procurement costs  Increased unemployment insurance  Recessionary pressures?

 Remember the Title I and IDEA adjustments in Oct 2011? Similar concept, except deeper.  Cuts to USED will be between $3.5 and $4.1 billion  Estimated Education Impact at 7.8% level:  Title I: $1.1 billion  IDEA $978 million  Perkins:$136 million  Head Start: $590 million

 Cuts will be CALCULATED in January 2013  Cuts will be MADE in July 2013  NO cuts for school year (with the exception of Impact Aid)  All cuts will be felt in school year.

 Cuts are coming, whether through sequestration or Congressional action  Congress could act to identify blend of spending cuts, revenue (taxes) and mandatory spending (Medicare) reform  Congressional action would likely still include cuts to education, but to a much lesser extent

 Congress gave themselves the work of identifying$1.2 trillion in savings  If we get to sequestration, it is because Congress failed to act.  Sequestration is a blunt instrument, cutting all programs without considering demand, effectiveness, or return on investment.  Efforts to exempt portions of the budget (i.e., defense) simply amplify the severity of cuts to education

 Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to support Congressional efforts to pick up the work of the Super Committee  Use the Invoice on the ‘Resources’ slide to let your Congressional delegation know how the sequestration cuts would impact your district  Work with your Board to explain to the community what sequestration is and how it would effect your district

 AASA Sequestration Resources:  AASA Sequestration Toolkit AASA Sequestration Toolkit  AASA Legislative Corps  AASA Advocacy Update  The Leading Edge (policy/advocacy blog) 

Dan Domenech Executive Director Bruce Hunter Associate Executive Director Noelle Ellerson Assistant Director, Policy Analysis & Advocacy