News from the Examiner.com, April 8
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The first $44 billion in federal education stimulus money is now available to states, but U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will want detailed reports on how it is used, the Associated Press reported. Loopholes created by Congress could let states and school districts spend the money on such things as playground equipment or new construction, according to the Education Report. It also could let lawmakers cut state-level education funding and replace it with stimulus dollars, leaving school districts with no additional money, the report said. Duncan said last week he will withhold further funding - a second round of stimulus aid will be released later this year - from states straying from the goals of education reform and teacher job protection, the AP reported. Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina has refused to take the money because he can't use it to pay down debt. To get the second round of aid, states must report on: teacher quality and evaluation systems, comparisons between state and national test data, school restructuring under No Child Left Behind, charter schools and how many high school graduates earn at least some college credit.
