Tech Funding Reduced
The omnibus budget passed by Congress on November 20 had an unpleasant surprise for education technology. The main federal program for ed tech is Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT), which in the current fiscal year distributed $692 million to states. The Senate had proposed level funding, and the House had proposed cutting $92 million, but in the end the budget committee cut $192 million, or 28%.
For Washington state, this will mean a loss of over $2 million.
eSchool news has an article about this at their site. If you want to look at the actual education budget document as passed, you can find it at the House Appropriations Committee website. It’s the second document on the list titled “2005 LHHS Education Conference Detail Table.” Title IID is on page 34.