Recent action by South Tippah trustees to eliminate all the district’s teacher assistant positions for the coming school year points up a painful fact – cuts in state funding for education are a reality school districts across the state are going to have to deal with.

And there are no easy, painless answers.

The 2010-2011 state education budget was cut 11.3 percent, or $188 million, from its original starting figure.

The reason for that was state tax collections, and projections for future collections, just couldn’t support the starting figure. The money just wasn’t there, and wasn’t projected to be.

Unlike Congress and the federal government, the state has to live within its means. It can’t just print more money, borrow more money, and sink deeper into debt.

That means districts across the state are going to have to cut teaching personnel. That will mean teacher assistants, and in some cases, certified teachers.

South Tippah isn’t undergoing anything – or anything less painful – than what other districts in the state are undergoing.

And short of a revenue increase unforeseen by anyone at this time, the painful times are likely to continue in education.