Public broadcasting cut from Va. budget And Kermit thought it wasn't easy being green. His broadcasters in Virginia face a far tougher challenge: a new state budget with little, if any, green for public TV and radio. The current state budget includes about $3 million for public broadcasting statewide, with $2 million of that divided among public TV stations for classroom educational services. In the two-year, $85 billion budget that the General Assembly approved last week, all of that funding has gone but for $500,000, which is designated for digital educational content for classrooms. It is not clear if that $500,000 will be shared among public TV stations or if commercial providers could bid for it, said Lisa Tait, vice president for development at Community Idea Stations, which operates one radio and three TV stations in Richmond and Charlottesville. Community Idea Stations will lay off 11 employees as a result, Tait said. The lay-offs were first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "We don't have any choice," she said.