(Education Policy Center, 2016-01) Katsinas, Stephen G.; D'Amico, Mark M.; Friedel, Janice N.; Adair, J. Lucas; Warner, Jake L.; Malley, Michael S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This report draws upon National Surveys of Access and Finance Issues for the five years following the end of federal stimulus funding during the Great Recession. What has happed to public education and why? We find the following:The economic recovery following the Great Recession continues: In 2015 legislative sessions, respondents from just ten states report “Recession, producing a decline in state revenues” as a top budget driver, the lowest rating since 2006. As in 20147, during 2015 state legislative sessions, Elementary and Secondary Education and Medicaid were the top two budget drivers. Respondents from just six states report mid-year cuts at their public community colleges and regional and flagship universities.