Educational budget cuts are prevalent and increasing across the nation (Johnson, Oliff, & Williams, 2011). Existing literature indicates that cuts in educational funding have a negative impact on students' academic performance (Payne & Biddle, 1999). However, most of these studies generally rely on academic outcomes, which are limited to capturing a more holistic perspective of students' experience. Research is beginning to examine students' perceptions of their school climate (Mitchell, Bradshaw, & Leaf, 2010). Yet, student perspectives regarding school budget cuts have not been examined. The purpose of this master's thesis is to address this gap in the literatures, by eliciting student narratives in order to understand students' schooling experiences in a school where budget cuts occur. This study employed qualitative methods, utilizing a phenomenological approach, and involved student focus groups (n= 16) with sixth and seventh grade students. Findings indicated that students had more negative experiences in school, compared to previous years. Furthermore, students were aware of the budget cuts and identified several factors that negatively contributed to their school experience, which they attributed as being caused by the budget cuts; (a) increased teacher attrition, (b) reduced school supplies, (c) fewer electives, (d) less school activities, (e) poor maintenance of the school facilities, and (d) school closure. In addition, students generated creative solutions for handling future budget cuts. Implications for school administrators and future research are discussed.
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