Governor Tom Vilsack “will likely not” accept the 200-million dollars in budget cuts Republican propose beyond Vilsack’s own budget reduction plan. Vilsack wants to dip into the state’s economic reserve fund for some education initiatives, like teacher pay hikes. Republicans refuse to do that. Vilsack says he’s disappointed that the Republican proposal appears not to provide money for teacher compensation.Republicans say there won’t be a need for layoffs with their more austere budget plan, but Vilsack says their idea of having workers take unpaid furloughs is more complicated than they imagine. He says the Republican plan is “probably unworkable.”Vilsack estimates that his own 120-million dollar reduction will result in up to 600 vacancies as state workers who retire will not be replaced.
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