U.S. states greet new fiscal year with more spending, school funding

Days before most U.S. states’ new fiscal year begins, 40 states have passed budgets that boost spending and dedicate extra funding primarily for education, according to a brief released on Friday by the National Association of State Budget Officers. Typically, governors suggest budgets in January that legislatures use as starting points to negotiate. States have primarily increased education funds by changing school finance formulas, raising amounts for early education, and tying higher education funding to performance measures, it found.