Lawmaker says education shouldn’t be exempt from budget cuts

A republican legislative leader says some K-through-12 education spending can and should be cut as the state struggles to pay its bills. Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack has ordered a seven percent cut in most state agencies, but has said state aid to public schools will not be reduced. House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City says that’s unwise. He says the Governor has not cut enough according to numbers from the legislative fiscal bureaus. Rants says the Governor leaves two-thirds of state agencies untouched. Rants says there may be some funding streams to public schools that they may need to look at.Rants says legislators should be called back into special session, soon, to deal with the budget dilemma rather than wait ’til their regular session begins in 2002.Governor Vilsack has said layoffs will occur, with an emphasis on giving middle managers pink slips, as there’s one manager for every eight state workers. Vilsack says that ratio should be one manager for every 12. Rants says there should be one manager for every 15 to 20 workers.