Andrew spends his days (and I suspect many nights) at Dartmouth where, as he has reminded us before, he is on the front lines of some of the biggest education battles being waged these days.  And Pete has a very personal commitment to education that he has shared with us.

But every once in a while I get to play in this area as well.  Several years ago, for example, I briefly was a member of a special committee at a major university in the Washington, D..C. area that was trying to figure out how to reconfigure its student aid program (I left when I was told that we were not allowed to talk about how to lower spending, only loans vs. grants).

About a week ago, i participated in a forum hosted by the Committee for Education Funding in Washington so I had a chance to weigh in on what the education community -- that's everything from pre-school through graduate school -- may be facing as far as finances and the federal budget are concerned.

I listed the following:

1.  Home equity loans not being available to pay tuition at private K-12 schools and colleges and universities.

2.  Pressure on the federal government to hold the line on domestic appropriations. Education is the largest percentage of that part of the budget.

3.  Lower property taxes because of the housing problem.  That means that there will be less money in the traditional way many state and local governments fund education.

4.  Consumers with less disposable income means that fewer people will play the lottery, which in theory provides money for education in many states.

5.  The credit market problems mean that colleges and universities will have trouble borrowing.  Even Harvard, with its $35 billion endowment, recently had problems in this area.

6.  A suddenly increased demand for K-12 public schools.  Is there any doubt that parents who feel the need to cut back on expenses may decide that the private school their daughter or son either were thinking about or have been attending is suddenly a bit too expensive and that public schools are a more attractive alternative than they used to be?

7.  A suddenly increased demand for state colleges and universities.  The fall in the stock markets almost certainly means that the amount that some parents had put aside to pay for college is no longer enough to pay the tuition at a private school. Having a child live at home and commute to a school where he or she qualifies for in-state tuition may well be a much more common alternative than it was just a few years ago.  Other parents may have the money to pay for private tuition and fees but decide that it's needed for other purposes.

8.  The continuing problems with the availability of student loans.

9.  The fact that the default rates on student loans are likely to increase as the economy worsens.  This will increase the on-budget costs of these loans and, therefore, make them more expensive at the same time there will be pressure on federal domestic spending (see #2 above).

10.  Because of the economy and falling stock markets, the likely reduction in charitable contributions by alumni.

All of this seems to argue that education will be a bigger issue in Washington next year than anyone is currently admitting.