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There is a fear among public colleges that they will be thrown off the cliff even as the 2011 budgets are being crafted by the state legislators. They face the threat of a further drop in the federal funds granted last year.

Thanks to the legislation that was magically introduced, a great relief was offered to these colleges. This legislation was initiated by Democratic senators through their “Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010”. Through this program, tuition increases and budget cuts will be effectively warded off through a fund of $23 billion granted by them through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

This program is sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin who said that this bill was to address the emergency that has risen. He also said that this money did not come from the appropriated funds provided annually. Rather, it came out of the federal mandatory and will therefore not be at a risk of being offset by other program cuts. Social program supporters are likely to welcome the bill. However, budget hawks will view this entire effort through smoke tinted glasses.

Money was credited by the White House from the Fiscal Stabilization Fund of the recovery act. According to an estimate by the Education Department, many college and school related jobs including teaching could be at a great risk in the coming year. This was announced before the appropriation committee of the Harkin’s Senate by Arne Duncan, the secretary of education.

At the hearing, Harkins opined that there could be devastating impact if job cuts were of this magnitude. He also said that this would take a huge toll on the system of higher education and also severely hinder the economic progress of our country by forcing schools and colleges to totally reduce on the programs they offer.

Share from the $23 billion will be offered to governors of States and the percentage will be determined through a formula. The funds they receive will effectively balance the budget cuts they face from the 2010 and 2011 budges for public colleges, elementary and secondary schools and universities.

The funds granted through this program can be used only for compensating and retaining existing staffs, for training on the job, for hiring new employees and for careers that are related to education. This is unlike the stimulus funds which can be used either to refurbish facilities or to save jobs. These funds cannot also be used by the institution to pay old debts.

Harkin’s Bill is co sponsored by Richard Durbin and Roland Burris of Illinois, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, all of them Democratic Senators. Governors who receive these funds are also required to spend them on K-12 and on higher education at least as much as they can as what they spent from the state funds in the year 2006.

College leaders however are sceptical whether any of these proposed funds would actually reach public universities as most of them usually are spent at the elementary level.