More than $1 Billion in Recovery Funds Now Available for North Carolina to Save Teaching Jobs and Drive Education Reform

Application for Part 1 of North Carolina’s State Stabilization Funds Approved Today

May 22, 2009 -- U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that more than $1 billion is now available for North Carolina under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. North Carolina will be eligible to apply for another $409 million this fall. Today's funding is being made available per North Carolina's successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1st.

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"The $1 billion North Carolina will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history," said Duncan. "The President's leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. North Carolina can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform."

To date, North Carolina has received $309 million in education stimulus funds-representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants and Independent Living Grants. On April 1st, North Carolina received $129 million in Title I funding and $170 million in IDEA funding. This represents 50% of the Title I and IDEA funding North Carolina is eligible for in total. On April 1st, North Carolina also received more than $9 million in Vocational Rehab funds and more than $1 million in Independent Living funds.

In order to receive today's funds, North Carolina provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.

North Carolina is also required by the Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted, and how funds are used.

See North Carolina and other state applications for initial funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.

Source: Dept. of Education