EdVANTAGE Blog

Late last week, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released details of their economic stimulus plan.  Our national affiliate, the American Association of School Administrators provides this summary of the education elements:

· $13 billion for IDEA over two years;

· $11 billion for Title I over two years;

· $2 billion for School Improvement Grants;

· $1 billion for Title II, Part D: Education Technology;

· $66 million for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act;

· $250 million for states to develop longitudinal data systems;

· $14 billion for a new School Modernization and Repair Program (to be distributed under the Title I formula);

· $79 billion for a state stabilization fund, including $39 billion for states to back-fill funding cuts in their state K-12 and higher education funding formulas; $15 billion to be awarded to states based on their performance in three areas, including distribution of teachers, creation of longitudinal data systems and development of assessments for special education and ELL; and $25 billion for states to spend anywhere within their state budget, including education;

· $89 billion for Federal Medicaid Assistant Payments, which will provide necessary relief and reduce competition for limited state dollars between Medicaid and education; and

· $6 billion for broadband deployment.

The House Democrats have made district-by district estimates of the Title I and IDEA funds their proposal would deliver.

Their table includes this caution:  “These are estimated grants only. These estimates are provided solely to assist in making comparisons of the relative impact of alternative formulas and funding levels as part of the legislative process. They are not intended to predict specific amounts LEAs will receive. In addition to other limitations, much of the data that may be used to calculate final grants are not yet available.”

Again, these are just estimates and just for a proposal from just one house of Congress.

Also, the House plan would provide additional funding through a state stabilization fund and other vehicles.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she hopes that a bill will be passed before Congress leaves for its Presidents’ Day recess in February.

If the federal action allows discretion to states in allocating new funds, then there would be delays past February in establishing how much help individual districts could plan on.

Some conservatives have criticized plans to include education funding in the stimulus plan.  I’d note, however, that a regional school leader told me that the dozen or so districts in his mid-sized county estimate that may need to lay-off over 400 staff.  If one private sector employer announced plans to lay-off so many workers, it would almost certainly be front page news.