Education Trust Fund May Be Used for General Fund
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As time is running out to balance the general fund budget, the state’s education fund could be on the chopping block.
State school board member Ella Bell says it’s the children who would suffer.
“If you add up the value of what has been taken from education and children of this state, it’s significant. It’s significant,” said Bell.
Bell says she is upset with how the governor has handled the budget crisis over the past year.
“The governor mentioned nothing when he ran. No new taxes. No new taxes. And as soon as he won, we had a 700 million dollar shortfall,” said Bell.
The legslature first proposed taking 100 million dollars of use tax from the education trust fund.
Political analyst Steve Flowers says it most likely won’t be that much.
“The governor has been saying all year the general fund needs 300 million, they are not going to come close to that. I mean, they are now talking 50-75 if they take some of the education dollars that would be all they would take, which would still call for a bare bones budget,” said Flowers.
Bell says she hopes they will be able to find other ways to balance the budget instead of using the money allotted for children and education.
“I don’t mind helping the state out when we’re in hard times. But we surely need to be a part of the solution of remedying our whole piece where we can get things in our Trust Fund that will be there for all times,” said Bell.
