— Metro may raise fares ten cents on buses and trains this spring to help balance its budget. Other options include cutting service, which may mean half-hour waits for trains on weekends. Right now, the agency faces a $40 million budget gap. Click here for a WAMU audio clip that explains what’s going on.
— Fairfax County schools are about to undergo a round of deep spending cuts as they face historic revenue shortfalls. The superintendent has “proposed a $2.3 billion budget that would increase class sizes, gut summer school, and eliminate freshman sports and foreign language instruction for elementary students.” You can read the details of the proposed cuts by clicking here.
— According to the Washington Post other local school systems are also facing cutbacks. $22 million has been cut from D.C. Schools’ budget. Prince George’s County school officials are mulling a plan that would cut hundreds of jobs and increase class sizes. Montgomery County faces similar changes.
— The Labor Department announced earlier today that 85,000 jobs were lost last month, although unemployment rate remained at 10%. The number of lost jobs was higher than expected, “tempering hopes of a swift and sustained recovery from the Great Recession.” Click here for more.
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Photo from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.