Final answer:
The biggest education issue facing state governments is managing educational roles for societal governance and workforce training, while grappling with budget constraints leading to slashed education expenditures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The biggest education issue facing state governments today is the challenge of balancing the dual roles of educational systems. These include educating a learned society that can govern and run communities, and at the same time, providing practical job training for a modern workforce.
Moreover, state and local governments are tasked with making difficult budgetary decisions, which recently have led to the slashing of expenditures for education. This financial strain has manifested in reduced teacher hires, increased class sizes, and cuts to programs.