Arkansas would hit schools, elderly, health care

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Automatic federal budget cuts that are set to go into effect this week would have a varied impact in Arkansas, affecting the military, schools, health care recipients and the elderly, the state budget director said.

Arkansas Budget Director Brandon Sharp said some cuts, such as those affecting the military, would be felt immediately while the impact of cuts to education and other areas might have a delayed impact.

"In grants that we can project, $54 million that comes directly to the state in formula grants will be cut," Sharp said Tuesday.

The state Education Department has drawn its grants for the current school year, so the estimated $9.3 million in federal cuts won't be endured until the 2013-2014 school year. The exact amount hasn't been determined, Sharp said.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences derives some of its funding from large federal agencies, such as the National Institutes for Health, which face their own budget cuts. Sharp said the state's only medical school could lose funding that's in the tens of millions of dollars when federal health agencies' cuts are reflected in smaller or fewer grants.

Agencies that operate on a much smaller scale are at risk for losing money, too.

The Senior Citizens Center in Monticello, which provides between 100 and 115 meals per day, already is strapped for cash, relying on a walkathon and fundraising help from middle school classes to supplement the federal money. Should there be federal cuts, the crafts sold by the program's participants would carry more weight in the budget, director Barbara Abston said.

"At this point, we don't want to say what we're going to do because we don't know. It's definitely a concern," she said.

An assessment provided by the White House shows Arkansas losing $5.9 million for primary and secondary education, which is equivalent to $12.69 for each of the state's 465,000 public school students.

Another $5.6 million would be cut for education of children with disabilities. The White House said about 70 staff members could be cut from the ranks of teachers, aides and other staff.

Dr. Nate Smith, deputy director of the Arkansas Health Department, said the agency would find other areas to cut rather than let children go without their immunizations. The White House says the state will lose $78,000 for childhood vaccinations.

"I would say that critical vaccines for children are the last thing that we would cut here at the Department of Health. If we receive a $78,000 cut in the vaccinations for children program, we will find some way to get those children vaccinated," Smith said.

Smith said the state may be looking at a $4 million cut in the Women's Infants' and Children's food program.

About $3.6 million would be cut from the military in Arkansas, with $2 million coming out of Air Force operations. The state has air bases in Fort Smith and Jacksonville. Base Army operations would be cut by $1.6 million.

The White House says 4,000 civilian Defense Department workers in the state would be furloughed, but didn't say for how long. The White House also said the state stands to lose $1.6 million on funding to ensure air and water quality, plus another $842,000 for fish and wildlife preservation.

Other cuts would come in crime prevention, job search assistance and programs to stop violence against women.

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